Keenan Alexander Allen (born April 27, 1992) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears before leaving after his junior year. He was selected by the then San Diego Chargers in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft. Allen has also played for the Chicago Bears.
Allen won multiple rookie honors after setting Chargers' records for receptions and receiving yards by a rookie. In 2017, he was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. In 11 seasons with the Chargers, Allen is a six-time Pro Bowler and is one of two players in franchise history to accumulate more than 10,000 career receiving yards. He is the all-time leader in receptions for the Chargers.
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Early life
Allen attended Grimsley Senior High School and then Northern Guilford High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he played football, basketball, and ran track. In football, he was a standout on both sides of the ball for the Nighthawks football team. He was a 2009 high school All-American, selected by USA Today and Parade, and also played in U.S. Army All-American Bowl, returning one punt for 33 yards as well as one kickoff also for 33 yards.
Allen was regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com and Scout.com, and was widely considered the top defensive back in the nation. Allen initially committed to the University of Alabama to play safety, but switched his commitment to the University of California, Berkeley in order to play wide receiver and play with his half brother, Zach Maynard.
In track & field, Allen was a state qualifier in the long jump (top-jump of 7.01 meters). As a senior, he competed in sprints. He took 24th in the 400-meter dash event at the 2010 PTFCA State Meet, with a time of 51.60 seconds. He also competed in the 100-meter dash, recording a personal-best time of 11.2 seconds. In addition, he was also timed at 4.56 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
College career
Allen attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he started at wide receiver for the California Golden Bears football team from 2010 to 2012. As a freshman in the 2010 season, he had 46 receptions for 490 yards and five touchdowns. As a sophomore in the 2011 season, Allen had a career-high 98 catches for 1,343 yards. As a junior in the 2012 season, he had 61 receptions for 737 yards and six touchdowns. He left Cal after his junior season having caught a school-record 205 passes, for 2,570 yards (third in school history) and 25 touchdowns (seventh).
Professional career
Pre-draft
Due to a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) sprain he sustained during the 2012 season, Allen did not work out at the NFL Scouting Combine, but did run routes at Cal's Pro Day. Allen was described by draft pundits as one of the best receivers in the 2013 NFL draft, estimating that he would be picked in the latter half of the first round.
On April 9, 2013, Allen attended his own pro day, where he showed his route-running skills and catching abilities to numerous scouts and reporters. Due to the aforementioned PCL sprain, he was not at peak performance, leading to a 4.71-second time in the 40-yard dash. Allen noted that he was only at 80% health on the pro day. This led to a drop in his projected draft position.
San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers (first stint)
Allen was selected in the third round, 76th overall, by the San Diego Chargers in the 2013 NFL draft, though the team already had solid depth at the wide receiver position. He was the highest selected wide receiver from Cal since DeSean Jackson in 2008. Allen had been on General Manager Tom Telesco's radar for a while. In 2011, Telesco attended Cal's game against USC at San Francisco's AT&T Park where Allen enjoyed one of the most prolific days of his career that evening, catching a career-best 13 passes for 160 yards. On May 9, 2013, Allen signed a four-year, $2.81 million contract with the Chargers, which included a $613,800 signing bonus.
Allen struggled at times during training camp. Teammate and veteran tight end Antonio Gates envisioned that Allen in 2013 would play behind Eddie Royal, Vincent Brown, Malcom Floyd, and Danario Alexander. Although Alexander suffered a season-ending injury in the preseason, Allen did not participate in any offensive plays in San Diego's season opening loss to the Houston Texans. Unaccustomed to being a reserve player, he considered quitting football and returning to school to complete his degree. He began receiving playing time the following week against the Philadelphia Eagles when Floyd suffered a season-ending injury. On October 6, 2013, against the Oakland Raiders, Allen had his first 100-yard game as an NFL receiver, having six catches for 115 yards and a touchdown. The next week, in a win against the Indianapolis Colts, Allen recorded nine catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. In Week 14, he broke the franchise record for receptions in a rookie season, surpassing LaDainian Tomlinson, with 61 with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Allen finished the season leading all NFL rookies with 71 receptions, and led the team with 1,046 receiving yards—which also broke the Chargers rookie record of 1,001 set by John Jefferson in 1978. Only five other rookies had ever had more receiving yards in league history, while his eight touchdowns tied him for third all-time with six other rookies. He also set a Chargers rookie record with five 100-yard games in a season, and he tied Royal for the team lead in touchdowns. Four times during the season Allen was voted the NFL Rookie of the Week, and he was named NFL Rookie of the Year by Sporting News over runner-up Eddie Lacy. While the Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) named running back Lacy their 2013 Rookie of the Year, they also named Allen their Offensive Rookie of the Year. Allen was runner-up to Lacy for the Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press (AP), considered by the NFL to be its official award. In a vote by fans, Allen was named Pepsi NEXT NFL Rookie of the Year. Many experts came to view Allen's being drafted in the third round as a steal by San Diego; seven other wide receivers were taken before him. ESPN wrote in December that "Allen has performed like a first-round talent." The Chargers qualified for the playoffs that season. In the Wild Card Round, they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 27–10. They advanced to the Divisional Round, when Allen caught two touchdowns during a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter of a 24–17 loss to the Denver Broncos. He finished with six receptions for 142 yards, becoming just the second rookie in NFL history to gain 100 receiving yards and score two touchdowns in a playoff game.
Chicago Bears
On March 14, 2024, Allen was traded to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. In Week 6 against the Jaguars, he had two receiving touchdowns. In Week 13 against the Lions, he had another game with two receiving touchdowns. In Week 16 against the Lions, he had nine receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown. He finished the 2024 season with 70 receptions for 744 yards and seven touchdowns.
Los Angeles Chargers (second stint)
On August 5, 2025, Allen returned to the Chargers on a one-year, $8.5 million contract.
In Week 1, against the Kansas City Chiefs, Allen scored a touchdown in his return with the Chargers in a 27–21 win for the Chargers. In Week 5 against the Washington Commanders, Allen became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career receptions, doing so in 159 games. In the Week 10 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Allen passed Antonio Gates as the Chargers' franchise record holder for career receptions. He finished the 2025 season with 81 receptions for 777 yards and four touchdowns.
Indianapolis Colts
On August 19, 2026, Allen signed with the Indianapolis Colts.
Career statistics
NFL
Regular season
Postseason
Television appearances
In 2023, Allen competed in season nine of The Masked Singer as "Gargoyle". After being saved by Jenny McCarthy ringing the Ding Dong Keep It On Bell on "DC Superheroes Night", he was eliminated during the "Battle of the Saved" alongside Lou Diamond Phillips as "Mantis".
Personal life
Allen is married and has four children.
Allen is the younger half-brother of quarterback Zach Maynard, who also played at Cal. The two combined for the longest pass play in school history when they hooked up on a 90-yard score against the Washington Huskies. They share a mother, Dorie Maynard-Lang, and Maynard's biological father, Scott Lang, is Allen's stepfather. Allen's cousin, Maurice Harris, is a former NFL wide receiver, with the two being teammates in high school and college.
Allen is childhood friend of former cornerback David Amerson, who was selected in the 2013 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins.
On August 30, 2026, Allen was arrested in Indianapolis on preliminary charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and OWI causing endangerment.