Keenan Allen has been one of the biggest reasons that the Chargers were able to overcome the loss of wide receivers Danario Alexander and Malcom Floyd to injuries this season.
The third-round pick leads the team with 967 receiving yards and ranks third with 66 catches, numbers that seemed like an unlikely outcome when Allen started the year on the lower rungs of the depth chart. Allen didn’t even play in the first game of the season, something he said made him think about making an abrupt career change.
“After I didn’t play after that first game, I was about another snap away of not playing from quitting,” Allen said, via U-T San Diego. "[I wasn’t] living up to my expectations of starting. I’ve never been a role player-type guy. Not easy at all. ... I’ve never had to do it before. I never had to adjust.”
A phone call to his mother helped convince him not to go back to school to pursue a career in the music business, which should put her in line for a pretty good Mother’s Day gift next May from both Allen and the Chargers. Allen is 45 yards away from setting a Chargers rookie record and it’s unlikely he’ll be on the sideline again because of a coach’s decision any time soon.