Keenan Allen Fantasy Football Outlook For 2026 After Signing With Colts
Adam Pfeifer breaks down what Keenan Allen joining the Colts means for his—and the Colts'—fantasy football prospects for 2026.
Let’s be honest. It felt like this should have happened weeks ago.
Even if Alec Pierce were fully healthy, the Colts wide receiver room is, to put it kindly, lacking. Behind Pierce and Josh Downs, we’re looking at Ashton Dulin, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Laquon Treadwell (yes, he’s still around) and seventh-round rookie Deion Burks. But Pierce is still not practicing with an ankle injury, while the depth remains a concern.
Time to make a move.
Join Our Newsletter
Trusted by 400,000+ fantasy football players. Get access to Fantasy Life's free award winning newsletter and tools, all in one step.
By registering or logging in, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Fantasy Football Outlook Of Keenan Allen With Indianapolis Colts
After plenty of speculation, the Colts (finally) added Keenan Allen, signing the veteran wideout to a one-year deal. Allen, 34, spent last year back with the Chargers, catching 81 balls for 777 yards and four touchdowns, while seeing a team-leading 122 targets. There’s familiarity here, as Allen was alongside Colts head coach Shane Steichen in San Diego/Los Angeles from 2014-2020 when Steichen served as the team’s offensive quality control coach and offensive coordinator.
The Colts have likely shown some interest in Allen throughout the offseason, but the recent updates surrounding Pierce must have prompted the signing. Pierce reportedly received a second injection in his ankle and has yet to practice, putting him in legitimate jeopardy of missing the start of the regular season. That would make things very interesting because not only would it leave the Colts missing their top, highest-paid receiver, but schematically, they’d be without their top perimeter receiver. We know Allen has primarily been a slot receiver throughout his career, ranking third in the NFL in routes from the slot since 2015. Downs, meanwhile, has run 81% of his routes from the slot so far in his career.
Getting more burn in two-wide sets is an exciting development for Downs, and hopefully this addition doesn’t crush that potential. Last season, Downs ran just 17 routes out of 12 personnel, which ranked outside the top-100 wideouts in football. But in that very small sample size, Downs was targeted seven times. No matter what the personnel or situation, Downs simply earns targets. And he can do it against multiple coverages. Among wideouts with at least 100 routes last season, Downs ranked 11th in TPRR vs man coverage (29%). Downs’ release and footwork are impressive, but his size could make it difficult to consistently win against press coverage, making it unlikely the Colts deploy him and Allen in 12 personnel if Pierce is sidelined. Of course, the Colts' clear top three pass catchers would be Downs, Allen and Tyler Warren, so maybe just getting them on the field will be better for everyone.
But what do I know?
On the surface, the addition of Allen probably isn’t the greatest development for Downs’ breakout campaign. Unless Downs suddenly plays outside a lot more, it just feels like both players will be competing for the same position, as well as similar targets. Last year, Michael Pittman handled 21% of the team’s targets, with Pierce at 18% and Downs at 17%. The usage was spread out, as no one averaged more than 6.5 targets per game. A lot of the appeal surrounding Pittman’s departure was that the targets in Indianapolis would be highly concentrated between three players. And while Allen is obviously on the back nine of his career, he still earned 7.0 targets per game just last season, and has always earned targets at a high rate.
One of the top storylines for me when looking at this Colts passing game? Who is getting those predetermined RPO looks? Since moving to Indianapolis in 2023, Steichen has deployed RPO concepts on 604 plays, the most in football during that span. The Colts also rank third in RPO pass attempts during that stretch (111), with Pittman Jr. benefiting the most, leading all wideouts in RPO targets since 2023 (48). It may not seem like a lot, but those RPO looks are built for one player on quick-hitting, efficient passes.
With Allen now landing on a team, he’ll obviously see a bump in fantasy football ADP and can be drafted as a WR4. Downs will likely take a hit, while Warren’s status remains unchanged. But if Pierce doesn't get back on the field soon, there will be enough for all three players to enter fantasy lineups.
Join Our Newsletter
Trusted by 400,000+ fantasy football players. Get access to Fantasy Life's free award winning newsletter and tools, all in one step.
By registering or logging in, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Players Mentioned in this Article
Published Updated