What the Keenan Allen Trade Means for the Bears' Offense

Ryan Poles and the Bears have been pretty busy since the new league year started this week. A handful of signings have been made to upgrade the roster, but the biggest move yet was made Thursday night where the Bears traded for 6x Pro Bowler Keenan Allen.

Many fans were questioning the approach to free agency by Ryan Poles thus far as no blockbuster deals were made. The Bears entered free agency with the fifth most cap space in the NFL, but history tells us that overspending in free agency almost never correlates to success. Poles quietly upgraded multiple positions on the roster and now provided whoever the quarterback ends up being next season with a plethora of weapons on that side of the ball.

Allen's resume speaks for itself with 904 career receptions for 10,530 yards and 59 touchdowns. He instantly becomes the best receiver the Bears have ever had. Pairing him up with D.J. Moore will create the best tandem the Bears have had since Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall. In fact, you can argue this tandem has the potential to be one of the top in the league.

Allen is arguably the best thing a young quarterback can ask for in the NFL as he consistently creates separation from defensive backs to provide easy throws. He has elite route-running to go with outstanding hands. The combination of Allen and D.J. Moore will make it almost impossible for teams to shut down the Bears' offense with just man coverage.

Not only will man coverage be easily exploited, but zone coverage as well. Allen and Moore will draw plenty of attention from defenses, clearing up things in the middle for Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett. Last year it was predominantly Moore and Kmet getting all of the looks with no one else warranting any attention. Adding Allen will provide multiple options across the field for the Bears to work with.

Justin Fields has still not been traded, but the thoughts across the league are that it will still happen eventually. If so and Caleb Williams is brought in, I cannot think of a better situation for a rookie QB to walk into than this one. An offense of Keenan Allen, D.J. Moore, Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, and D'Andre Swift has the potential to be one of the better units in football. This is not even mentioning the offensive line with two solid tackles in Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright to protect him.

We still will have to wait and see what the decision is from Ryan Poles on the QB, but this move benefits whoever is under center next season.

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