Why coaches love ‘craftsman’ Allen over NFL showmen

NFL 2025 season: Week six

Another NFL record fell on Sunday as Keenan Allen reached 1,000 receptions.

Only 16 players have passed that figure, many of them bigger names than Allen, but he is now the fastest to reach 1,000 catches.

The record had stood since 2006, when former Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison reached the milestone in 167 games. Allen got there in 159.

The 33-year-old is playing in his 13th season – all but one with the Los Angeles Chargers – and has never been considered an NFL superstar.

Allen was selected by the Chargers – then based in San Diego – in the third round of the 2013 draft, but he has outlasted many of the wide receivers that were drafted after him.

“This record basically speaks to his consistency and his availability,” said McGeoghan, who was the Chargers’ wide receivers coach from 2018-2020.

“But his intelligence and his sophistication are what has allowed him to catch that number of passes over time. He’s great on third down, he’s one of the best chain movers in the history of the game.”

Allen currently has 11,563 receiving yards – fifth among current players, behind DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans, Travis Kelce and Davante Adams.

Along with Tyreek Hill and Stefon Diggs, they are the six current players to have claimed more receiving touchdowns than Allen (69).

Schecter said that for him to reach 1,000 receptions before them “shows how reliable a target he is for his quarterbacks”, yet he has a smaller profile than his peers listed above and is not lauded by fans for being a “big-time, flashy receiver”.

But McGeoghan said that Allen is “the most heralded guy that I’ve ever coached when it comes to the industry professionals”.

McGeoghan has also been wide receivers coach at the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, and coincidentally interviewed Schecter before she interned with the Bills in 2017.

Having ‘good hands’ is seen as an essential attribute for a receiver, which McGeoghan said “starts with having eye discipline”.

“You’re looking at the football all the way into the frame, and then you’re watching it into the tuck as well when you’re in practice, so that in a game, you’re going to possess the ball, look at the tuck really quickly, and then get upfield north and south.

“The second component is courage because you’re going to get drilled [after receiving the ball]. There’s going to be a collision, so you need to have concentration to execute that fundamental of watching the football into the tuck. It requires a great amount of courage.”

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Kelce (1,026) is the only active player with more catches than Allen (1,003), with Hopkins (991) and Adams (979) not far behind.

“[Kelce and Allen] have similar skillsets, in terms of reliability for your quarterback, doing all those little details,” said Schecter.

“You know, take that snapshot when you catch the football, it’s picture perfect. And then it’s time on task. How many times are you catching footballs, putting in all that detailed work?

Hopkins, Adams and Evans have already played more games than Allen, while Diggs and Hill would need remarkable runs over their next 10-14 games to beat the record.

So who else could possibly reach 1,000 receptions faster than Allen?

“You look at the receivers out there and I do feel there are some who can do it, but again, it’s about how healthy you can stay and how consistent,” said Schecter.

Justin Jefferson and Puka Nacua are two wide receivers who have made flying starts to their NFL careers with the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams, respectively.

“I would say it’d be Justin Jefferson, but that’s obviously quarterback dependent, it’s on them being able to get him the football,” said McGeoghan.

“And then Puka Nacua, kind of a dark horse, if Matthew [Stafford] retires and they get the right quarterback in three or four years, Puka Nacua could be a guy to watch for that record too.”

Jefferson currently has 524 catches from 82 games so even if he maintained that rate and stayed injury-free, it would take the 26-year-old another four seasons.

Nacua has 236 from 33 so it would take the 24-year-old six seasons, by which time McGeoghan hopes Allen will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“Both those guys will still be playing five years after Keenan retires and we’ll be in Canton, Ohio, celebrating his induction with a gold jacket,” added Allen’s former coach.

“This record, because of who he passed, Marvin Harrison, who is rightfully in the Hall of Fame. It kind of puts Keenan right in that discussion.