The Chicago Bears had lofty expectations going into the 2024 season. The Bears had just taken Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft and chose Rome Odunze eight picks later to be one of his top targets. With D.J. Moore on the opposite side, some felt Chicago could make some noise in the NFC North and be a dark horse for a run in the playoffs.
As Bears know, that didn’t happen. Chicago won four of its first six games, but a 10-game losing streak sent it to a final record of 5-12. The ineptitude of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus cost the Bears games and eventually their jobs, and the offensive line fell apart, allowing Williams to be sacked 68 times.
There were many reasons why the Bears were disappointing, but Keenan Allen also fell short of expectations.
After one year with the Bears, Allen signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract to return to the Los Angeles Chargers on Tuesday night. While many in Los Angeles are elated by the hit of nostalgia, Bears fans know he isn’t the same player he used to be and could disappoint again after crawling back to his old team.
Keenan Allen is Destined to Disappoint After Return to Chargers
The Bears had a few good reasons to target Allen in the spring of 2024. One of the league’s most consistent receivers, Allen posted 1,000 yards and 100 receptions in five of the past seven seasons before coming to Chicago. He ranks second in receptions (974) and fifth in receiving yards (11,274) and seventh in receiving touchdowns (66) among receivers since entering the league in 2013 and probably will have a case to be enshrined in Canton someday.
This is the type of target you want to pair with a young quarterback. But it didn’t pan out that way. Allen caught just 70 passes for 744 yards and seven touchdowns in his lone season with the Bears, and his overall grade plunged to a career-low 64.4, according to Pro Football Focus.
Even if you feel like PFF’s grades are opinionated, Allen came up short of the hype. His 1.36 yards per route run were by far the lowest of his career, and his drop percentage nearly doubled from 5.3% in 2023 to a career-high 10.3% in 2024. His speed diminished, and he looked like a receiver in his age-32 season.
Now a year older, Allen returns to the Chargers. But while Justin Herbert is still there, the landscape has changed. Kellen Moore was a pass-happy offensive coordinator during Allen’s final year with Los Angeles in 2023, ranking third with 632 passing attempts. But the script has been flipped under head coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman as the Chargers ranked 28th with 510 passing attempts last season.
While that leaves plenty of meat on the bone, Allen will be competing with a pair of young receivers for targets. Ladd McConkey had a tremendous rookie season, catching 82 passes for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns. Second-round pick Tre Harris also figures to demand some targets after catching 60 passes for 1,030 yards and seven touchdowns at Ole Miss last season.
Fewer targets and more competition figure to prevent Allen from putting up the big numbers, and last year’s struggles are those of a receiver who has lost a step. The Bears were right to move on this offseason, even as Luther Burden III has struggled to gain traction during training camp and could watch from afar as Allen looks to regain his form in Los Angeles.