Keenan Allen Top Landing Spots: 2025 NFL Free Agency Outlook

March 11, 2025

Which teams are potential landing spots for Chicago Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen for fantasy football? John breaks down all the top landing spots for Keenan Allen.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen is at a crossroads in his career. After a fantastic 2023 season, in which he caught 108 of his 150 targets for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns, he was traded to the Chicago Bears for a fourth-round pick. His 2024 was nothing like his 2023, and though he repeated his TD count with seven more grabs for scores, he caught just 70 passes for 744 yards.

There would normally be a much bigger market for him, but he's 32 years old and will turn 33 in March, meaning his career is likely drawing to a close. Receivers typically don't last as long as he has in the league, and there were at least some signs of his decline last year evident on tape. That's likely why he hasn't found a home yet.

But free agency isn't over yet, and even if Allen isn't signed before the season starts, it's possible that a team could bring him in for reinforcements due to injuries. Several teams are very, very thin at the WR position, and are an injury away from complete disaster. And some of these squads would actually make great landing spots for Allen. So let's dive in to the best landing spots for Allen for the 2025 NFL season.

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are an obvious landing spot, just like the next team on this list, because they are completely devoid of WR talent right now. Thus far in free agency, we haven't seen them sign anyone, but even if they do, they need upgrades at both the WR1 and WR2 positions. The current roster features wideouts DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Kendrick Bourne, Mack Hollins, Ja'Lynn Polk, and Javon Baker, none of whom any team would want as their first or second receivers going into the 2025 season.

“First team all-pro” Derek Stingley giving up a 40 yard touchdown to Kayshon Boutte

Christian Gonzalez never gave up a play like this pic.twitter.com/QTnb9jGTKk

— Drake Maye Lover (@drakemayeloverr) January 10, 2025

Boutte sort of... kind of... became the team's de-facto WR1 toward the end of the 2024 season. Still, he managed just 43 catches for 589 yards and three receiving touchdowns over 15 games. Even if Allen's athleticism declines from where it was last season, if the Patriots decide not to sign any other FAs and pick him up, and don't make a significant investment in the 2025 NFL Draft, Allen could step in and become WR1 from Day 1.

Even if the team spends another premium pick on a wideout, they could select the Polk from this year's class -- the most overrated player and biggest bust from the group last season. That wouldn't help them solve their WR problem.

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is clearly the team's franchise QB of the future, and by all accounts, he played well last season, considering what he was working with. He showed good accuracy and arm strength, great intelligence and understand of the game and the offense he was in, and improvisational skills and athleticism that allowed him to extend plays when needed and pick up first downs with his legs, helping extend drives.

One day they'll regret not joining Drake Maye in New England when they had the chance. pic.twitter.com/V3ZR8UafGs

— TCL (@TitleTalkTCL) March 11, 2025

It was just his first season, but Maye showed an ability to deliver surgically accurate throws. Allen won't be nearly as fast as he was in previous seasons, but that's never been the strength of his game. Instead, it's been precision with his routes, diagnosing coverages, and consistently getting separation, even if it's not by a mile. Maye would benefit from a pass-catcher that can do what Allen can, and would feed him accordingly.

Los Angeles Chargers

Yes, I will be repeatedly saying that the Los Angeles Chargers are an ideal landing spot for any free agent receiver for the 2025 NFL season. The playoff game between the Houston Texans and the Chargers, in which L.A. was obliterated 32-12, laid bare the team's biggest deficiency -- a lack of WR talent. That's not to say wide receiver Ladd McConkey wasn't excellent last season, and in that game as well.

But he was the only good pass-catcher the team had that was able to create separation, win on his routes, and gain yards for his floundering offense. The Texans had one of the league's best defenses, and while McConkey was able to consistently win, literally no one else could.

I don’t want to upset anybody after the Chargers pulled out a massive win, but if Ladd McConkey’s knee injury means he is sidelined against the Chiefs, I’m not sure how the Chargers will score a single point.

LAC’s offense even at full strength was bleak with weapons. Take away… pic.twitter.com/BEe2q296wz

— Ryan DePaul (@RyanDePaul) December 1, 2024

Too often, the team's stat lines were like this... absolutely terrible for everyone except McConkey. And that's because wide receivers Quentin Johnston, Joshua Palmer, and Derius Davis, and tight ends Will Dissly and Stone Smartt were just not good enough to be the No. 2 option for a passing offense in the NFL.

If the Chargers aren't planning on drafting a quality wide receiver or good pass-catching tight end in the 2025 NFL Draft, they'll make an incredible spot for a player like Allen. He'd return to his old franchise and resume catching passes from quarterback Justin Herbert, who's one of the NFL's best throwers of the football, and would be in a situation with plenty of chemistry already developed.

Seattle Seahawks

I don't have a lot of confidence that newly-signed QB Sam Darnold will be an upgrade over Geno Smith, who was traded to the Las Vegas Raiders just a few days ago. What I do believe is that Seattle, outside of WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, is extremely devoid of talent at the WR position. Allen would present an upgrade over the likes of *checks notes* Jake Bobo. The team traded away DK Metcalf and released Tyler Lockett, and it's hard to imagine JSN being the only decent wide receiver on the team leading them to much success.

JAKE BOBO SZN
pic.twitter.com/68NMWz6PZF

— SleeperSeahawks (@SleeperSeahawks) March 5, 2025

Trying to run out a WR4 as your WR2 typically doesn't work out well for teams. Just ask the Buffalo Bills or New England Patriots from 2024. The Bills at least tried to correct their mistake, but the Patriots sat and watched as they had one of the worst offenses in the NFL, despite their quarterback's best efforts.

Allen makes sense as a stop-gap if Seattle decides to kick the can down the road for acquiring another wideout. They have other position groups that they desperately need to address, like the OFFENSIVE LINE. But Seahawks general manager John Schneider is still employed despite his repeated failures (and unwillingness) to address that problem, so who knows.

Either way, Allen would probably get a significant number of targets, as he and JSN would be the only players Darnold would presumably be excited about throwing the ball to.

Buffalo Bills

It seems that the Amari Cooper experiment might not be working particularly well, and while there were reportedly talks of bringing him back after the 2024 season, nothing has materialized yet. The Bills still have a serious lack of wide receiver talent. WR Khalil Shakir, the team's best wideout, just signed a four-year, $53 million extension, but he's a slot receiver.

WR Keon Coleman should develop nicely in his second year as well, but if Cooper isn't brought back, there's still more production yet to be had for the WRs in fantasy, as quarterback Josh Allen is one of the most productive in the league. The team let WR Mack Hollins go, but he wasn't much of a factor in 2024.

Most. Valuable. Player.

Is Josh Allen the best player in the NFL?pic.twitter.com/yBleSVkzyN

— DraftKings Network (@DKNetwork) March 9, 2025

Allen has a rocket launcher for an arm, and was just extended by the Bills. He'll likely spend the rest of the career there, anyway, and he's clearly still in his prime. Allen (Keenan) was still a pretty decent separator last year, and though he probably doesn't have a ton left in the tank, Buffalo would be a great place for him to spend his final seasons.

He's still capable of playing on the outside, though it would make sense to bring him in for some slot snaps. Allowing him to take the majority of the slot reps Shakir doesn't take would help boost his production, as well, and he had success from the slot with the Bears last season when quarterback Caleb Williams was able to get the ball out before getting sacked.

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