Keenan Allen to work out with panthers April 9

[iamcline]

Keenan's pro day is at Proehlific Park in Greensboro behind my house on April 9th. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

I suppose they'll just let you walk right in, eh?

[1989]

Don't want. I smell bust.

[BigSyke]

Don't want. I smell bust.

Explain your reason. Is it because he's not super fast?

[carolina-chuck]

I suppose they'll just let you walk right in, eh?

It was a joke bud. Chill down

[La Pantera]

Good hands...seems to move slugishly. Don't think he'll be a #1 WR. Think he'll run a high 4.5, 40

Flame away.

[1989]

Explain your reason. Is it because he's not super fast?

I honestly don't have a lot to back that up. He seems injury prone. I think that I am truly just biassed towards us picking Patterson. He's tall and fast and had a great year last year. I have the same feeling about Allen as I did with Pickles...

If we could get Allen in round 2 I would be ok with it.

[DaCityKats]

Allen doesn't scream #1 to me. He seems like a solid #2 receiving 'elite' hype from supporters.

Keenan just doesn't impress me in any area as a WR. He runs smooth routes and possesses good hands but I fail to see his *rare* athleticism at work. At best, he's a tad better Crabtree.

crabtree has developed into a number 1 WR.him being a PR/ KR, running smooth routes while being 6'2 200 speak how athletic he is.

[BigBeezy]

I honestly don't have a lot to back that up. He seems injury prone. I think that I am truly just biassed towards us picking Patterson. He's tall and fast and had a great year last year. I have the same feeling about Allen as I did with Pickles...

If we could get Allen in round 2 I would be ok with it.

Not calling you out but for those that say Allen is injury prone, he only missed 4 games in 3 years, 3 of which was this year (the last 3 games of the year). The other was a freak accident during warm-ups before a game as a freshman and the trainers held him out as a precautionary measure.

The only way that Allen makes it to the 2nd is if he completely bombs his workout, which I don't see happening.

If Allen wasn't injured, he'd be a sure fire top 10-15 pick. The fact that most are still projecting him as a mid-to-late 1st rounder, despite never seeing him in a workout, speaks volumes to his ability as a WR.

QB play and scheme really held him back at Cal, not injuries. He may be a blazing fast but, if completely healthy, I'd expect him to run in the mid 4.4s to low 4.5s, which is plenty fast to be an effective WR.

[DaCityKats]

Crabtree is a #1 by default (Moss is a hollow shell and Manningham has lost a step or two). I'm hardly impressed by anything that Crabtree does on the gridiron. Thus far, he's been a disappointment by failing to live up to expectations.

So because Allen returns punts and kick offs as a 6'2 ft 200 lb WR, he's an athletic specimen? I don't think so.

normally the guy doing the returns is pretty athletic, and has quick twitch muscles and moves to make guys miss.then being that size and still doing those things speaks on how athletic he is. also remember he was recruited to play S not WRSo that also speaks on how athletic he is.you may be hardley impress, but crabtree has stepped his game big time.

[The Golden Child]

Allen doesn't scream #1 to me. He seems like a solid #2 receiving 'elite' hype from supporters.

Keenan just doesn't impress me in any area as a WR. He runs smooth routes and possesses good hands but I fail to see his *rare* athleticism at work. At best, he's a tad better Crabtree.

I would agree with that.

[BigBeezy]

Allen doesn't scream #1 to me. He seems like a solid #2 receiving 'elite' hype from supporters.

Keenan just doesn't impress me in any area as a WR. He runs smooth routes and possesses good hands but I fail to see his *rare* athleticism at work. At best, he's a tad better Crabtree.

If Allen ends up being a better version of Crabtree, then I'd count that as a win for us. Crabtree may not be Megatron, AJ Green, or Julio Jones but I'd say he developed into a #1 WR threat this past season. His numbers have improved every year and his 85 catches, 1105 yards and 9 TDs in 2012 all ranked in the top 15 of the NFL.

You don't need to have 'rare' athleticism to be a productive WR in the NFL but strong route running and hands, which you mentioned as strengths of Allen, go a long way. I'd also add run after the catch as one of his strengths as well.

I'm not saying Allen is gonna set the world on fire with his workout but I think he may surprise some people with his numbers on April 9th, if he's fully healthy. I've been following this kid since HS and he's always stood out as one of the best players on the field at every level thus far in his career.

[TheGreatestOfAllTimeCam]

Sign me up for this dude.

[beastson]

That's my debate point though. Allen fans inflate his athleticism. While he does have his moments, he's not a freak like Cam or Calvin. There's nothing wrong with that, but the way fans build him up is absurd. Keenan is a solid prospect but he's not the next big thing. I, personally, don't view him as a first round prospect.

That's another topic I wish to discuss -- his YAC stats. That's overblown, in my opinion. Often times, from what I've seen, once Allen gets touched he goes down. There were moments in his highlight reel where DBs grabbed his jersey or scratched his knee and he sped away for huge gains.

Allen would benefit from Cam throwing to him

Trust me

And Cam would benefit as well

[BigBeezy]

That's my debate point though. Allen fans inflate his athleticism. While he does have his moments, he's not a freak like Cam or Calvin. There's nothing wrong with that, but the way fans build him up is absurd. Keenan is a solid prospect but he's not the next big thing. I, personally, don't view him as a first round prospect.

That's another topic I wish to discuss -- his YAC stats. That's overblown, in my opinion. Often times, from what I've seen, once Allen gets touched he goes down. There were moments in his highlight reel where DBs grabbed his jersey or scratched his knee and he sped away for huge gains.

If you're looking for the next big thing in terms of a freak athlete that imposes his will on defenders, like a CJ or Julio, then you probably won't like most of the WRs in this draft. That doesn't mean there aren't 1st round quality WRs that will be very productive pros, which I think Allen is and will be. CJ and Julio types are rare.

As for his YAC ability, this is probably one of the strongest, if not the strongest aspect, of his game. In Cal's offense, Allen ran mostly short and intermediate routes, a lot of screens, drags, digs, slants, etc. so there's no way he would've put up the numbers (almost 1,400 yards in 2011) he did without being good at getting YAC. Is he going to have huge YAC after every catch? No, especially in Cal's offense and w/ the poor QB play they had but he turned a lot of those short catches into first downs, big gains, touchdowns, etc.

I'm assuming that you probably watched the film/highlights from 2012 USC and Ohio State games, which were probably his two worst games in terms of YAC in 2012.

If you haven't already, I'd invite you to watch the 2012 Washington St. game or the 2011 USC, Texas, and Wash. games. There's no way that you watched those games and didn't see his YAC ability on display.

Another aspect of his game that folks tend to overlook is his ability to play all 3 WR spots. Most WRs coming out of college have only played in one spot their entire career. This also adds to his value.