WESTFIELD – Keenan Allen is nothing if not self-aware but after 13 years in the NFL, the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver understands what he brings to a roster.
And what he doesn’t.
“Starting out my rookie year, I was slow, so I guess I haven’t lost any speed,” the newest addition to the Colts receivers room joked Wednesday afternoon at Grand Park, moments after Indianapolis formally announced the franchise had signed the 34-year-old on a one-year, incentive-laden deal worth as much as $8.32 million.
“I’m just able to get open, and I haven’t lost any speed. Nothing has really left me.”
Speed, without question, was not the Colts’ attraction to Allen – who ran times of 4.71 and 4.75 seconds in his 40-yard dashes during his Pro Day at Cal in 2013. For comparison, Penn State star defensive tackle Zane Durant clocked a 4.75 as the fastest at his position at this year’s combine. None of the 25 wide receiver who competed in the drill in February registered a time of 4.5 seconds or higher.
But there’s a clear and obvious reason why Colts head coach Shane Steichen had been privately chatting with the star receiver from his days as an assistant with the Chargers, hoping to coax Allen – who played for the Chargers in 12 of his 13 seasons – to join what was the most dominant offense in the NFL for 10 weeks last fall.
“He’s one of the most – well, he’s probably not one of the most. He’s the most cerebral receiver I’ve ever been around,” Steichen said Wednesday. “He sees the game like a quarterback – how to run routes, how to attack leverage, how he sees coverage, especially inside in the slot.
“How corners play, how linebackers play him in the slot. That’s built-up (from) reps over the years, and he’s seen so many different looks. It’s like clockwork for him in his brain, and so I think having that at that position as you get older really helps you in the long run.”
Allen’s signing gives the Colts a long-awaited answer to the void they created in trading one-time WR1 Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers in March for what amounted to a salary dump.
Ironically, Pittman was frequently compared to Allen by Pittsburgh media in the wake of his addition. Their stats a year ago – separated by one single catch and seven yards – are eerily similar. But the Colts have no plan to pigeonhole Allen in a pre-defined role, Steichen said.
Though he measures 6-foot-2 and more than 210 pounds, Allen has often excelled in the slot – a position that is tailormade for fourth-year receiver Josh Downs. But as Steichen went on to explain – and as he and Colts offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter have referenced over the offseason – Indianapolis would like to experiment with more versatility with its leading pass catchers.
Having caught just 47 balls in his first-career 1,000-yard season in 2025 and as he assumes the team’s lead receiver role, Alec Pierce will receive a higher volume of targets this season as the Colts transform him from one of the league’s top deep threats into a well-rounded wideout deserving of the four-year, $114 million deal they signed him to in March.
That shift will open up more deep plays for others on the roster – including Downs, who the Colts have experimented with outside during training camp, and second-year tight end Tyler Warren, who did a little bit of everything as a rookie but who often became the offense’s safety blanket close to the line of scrimmage later in the season.
With all that in mind, the Colts already have a bit of everything through their three incumbent top receiving targets. Adding Allen, Steichen said, should give the Colts just another threatening option.
“Adding Keenan to the fold, I think we can do a lot with those guys and move bodies around and find matchups," Steichen said.
In his return season with the Chargers last year, Allen registered far-and-away his lowest percentage of offensive snaps in his career. Though he appeared in all 17 games, Allen was considered a starter for just three of him. He was on the field for 630 total snaps (55%) – roughly 37 snaps a game.
And yet, the ball continued to gravitate toward him. Allen led the Chargers in targets with 122 – 16 more than 24-year-old Ladd McConkey, 38 more than Quentin Johston and 53 more than budding young tight end Oronde Gadsden II. He finished with 81 catches – again the team lead – and led the entire NFL in third-down catches that moved the chains (29).
“For one, he’s a bigger-body guy, and he can create separation. I think on third down, he’s been huge,” Colts quarterback Daniel Jones said of the ways in which Allen can have the biggest impact on the Colts. “You look at the past few years, and he’s another guy who knows how to get open and create space.
“I think that’s helpful. Definitely an important asset for us.”
As much as the Colts desperately needed a proven presence in its third starting wide receiver role – wideouts Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (11), Ashton Dulin (5) and Laquon Treadwell (0), the team’s options for the role until this week, combined for just 16 catches a year ago – what they don’t exactly need is a player who can lead the team in catches in 2026. Warren led the team in targets (112) a year ago as a rookie, and Downs paced the Colts in catches (72) in 2024 in his second season before seeing his production (58 catches) take a slide with Warren’s addition.
Before signing Allen, both Pierce and Downs seemed destined to see their targets take a significant leap, and in his second year in the system, there was no expectation for Steichen and Cooter to use Warren any less.
Adding Allen into the fold could complicate all that, but neither he nor Steichen were concerned Wednesday.
“Obviously, we want him coming in and (to) produce, but we’ll be smart with him, too,” Steichen said. “It’s not like he’s going to be out there 70 plays a game, but he’s going to play and produce.”
For Allen, who said he was speaking to multiple teams about opportunities for 2026, the 34-year-old said he expected to come back for a 14th season this year, but he wasn’t going to accept just anything. Role, fit and chemistry mattered deeply.
“Doing what I do. Making plays and moving the chains. Being there for the quarterback. Being a veteran. Being somebody that teammates can ask questions to,” said Allen when asked what he felt he brought to his new team. “Any way I can help the team. Coming in ready to play, making sure I do what I do, and let Shane and (Jones) figure things out.
“(Jones) is a guy who is getting better every year. Last year, he was on a big roll, and I want to be part of that and help him be the safety blanket that I am.”
Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Colts coveted WR Keenan Allen: ‘He sees the game like a quarterback’
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