Tag: Keenan Allen

Caleb Williams, Bears receivers planning throwing sessions before training camp

Before training camp next month, Caleb Williams and Bears receivers will get together for a few throwing sessions.

The Chicago Bears have wrapped their offseason program following the conclusion of mandatory minicamp earlier this month. Now, they get a six-week break before returning to Halas Hall for training camp next month.

While the Bears will be on summer break, the offseason training doesn’t stop. Wide receiver DJ Moore told 670 the Score that rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and Bears wideouts will be getting together two or three times over the next few weeks for throwing sessions leading into training camp next month.

Williams got the opportunity to throw to his full complement of receivers for the first time during mandatory minicamp, which included Moore, Keenan Allen and fellow rookie Rome Odunze. Now, he’ll continue to build that rapport with his new cast of weapons before an important training camp kicks into gear.

Highlights from Day 2 of Chargers mandatory minicamp

The Chargers wrapped up their second day of mandatory minicamp on Wednesday, which saw standout performances from Justin Herbert and Tarheeb Still.

The Chargers wrapped up their second day of mandatory minicamp on Wednesday.

To experience some of the action that went down at Hoag Performance Center, here are a few clips from the team’s official Twitter account and members of the media.

Jaylon Johnson eager to go against Bears’ top 3 WRs in training camp

Jaylon Johnson is looking to elevate his game when he battles the likes of Bears WRs DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze this summer.

Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson cashed in on a four-year, $76 million contract extension this offseason, where he’ll continue to serve as a cornerstone for Chicago’s ascending defense.

Johnson is coming off a career year, where he was one of the NFL’s best cover cornerbacks, and he’s looking to prove he can consistently be a top player in the league.

Something that should help the fifth-year veteran is battling against the Bears’ potent wide receiver trio featuring DJ Moore, Keenan Allen (acquired via trade this offseason) and rookie Rome Odunze. And it’s a challenge he’s looking forward to given the talent in place.

“[Keenan] is a receiver that is unpredictable,” Johnson said. “As skillful as a lot of these guys are in this league that do a lot of great things, I feel like they are not as unpredictable, they are not as crafty as I feel like Keenan is. So being able to go against that every day, I think it’s something that can help me and DBs to get better. Then of course Rome Odunze coming in and finding his way, more so mentally, and then letting his instincts and his physical being take over after that. Of course, DJ Moore is DJ — he’s a playmaker so for me, every time I come out, especially for camp, I know I’ll be ready to go for sure.”

As they say, iron sharpens iron. And it’s safe to say these battles between defensive backs and receivers will be must-see during training camp this summer.

2024 Fantasy Football Strength of Schedule: Receivers

Cardinals and Bears looking at a sweet schedule for the receivers

The strength of schedule for receivers lumps wide receivers and tight ends together since each team uses the positions differently. While overall averages are interesting, no position is as sensitive to individual matchups as are receivers facing particular defensive backs. This makes the analysis less accurate than that for running backs and quarterbacks. The best receiver for an offense invariably draws the best coverage defender, if not more than one on most plays.

The analysis also considers the venue. There is a difference between how defenses respond either home or away, and that creates 64 “different defensive matchups” depending on where the game is played.

SEE ALSO: Quarterbacks | Running Backs

The average passing fantasy points allowed by defenses for receivers last year is at the bottom of this page.

Total Points

For fantasy contests and some leagues, only total points matter. Below are the total points for each passing offense according to their schedule using the averages allowed by those defenses in 2023 .

PHI CHI DET ARI GB ATL SF NYJ IND CLE HOU
781 774 768 766 754 746 745 745 743 733 731
CAR DAL LV NO WAS BUF BAL SEA NE MIN
728 726 724 723 723 719 718 717 716 713
TEN KC NYG TB PIT CIN LAR DEN MIA LAC JAC
711 707 703 701 700 698 697 693 690 689 687

 

Weekly Play

Three different views are below. Week 1 to 17 is the full-season fantasy strength of schedule. “The Dorey Rule” says to draft like the season only lasted the first six weeks for a hot start. Finally, Weeks 15 to 17 represent the most common fantasy playoffs. “Good” games were when they faced one of the top 22 venues from last year; “Bad” was when they played in one of the worst 22.

Wk 1-17 SOS Good Bad First 6 Gms SOS Good Bad Playoffs SOS Good Bad
CHI 5 8 3 HOU 3 4 1 CHI 3 3 0
ARI 5 8 3 NYJ 3 3 0 SF 3 3 0
DET 4 7 3 SEA 3 4 1 CIN 2 2 0
GB 3 6 3 ARI 2 3 1 CLE 2 2 0
SF 3 6 3 TB 2 4 2 TEN 2 2 0
NYJ 3 6 3 IND 2 2 0 ATL 1 2 1
BUF 2 5 3 CHI 2 3 1 LAC 1 2 1
NE 2 7 5 NE 2 3 1 GB 1 1 0
IND 1 5 4 DET 2 3 1 NO 1 1 0
BAL 1 5 4 WAS 1 2 1 MIN 0 1 1
ATL 0 6 6 GB 0 2 2 LV 0 1 1
CLE 0 6 6 SF 0 1 1 WAS 0 1 1
HOU 0 6 6 DEN 0 1 1 JAC 0 1 1
DAL 0 6 6 BAL 0 2 2 NE 0 1 1
TEN 0 6 6 BUF 0 2 2 DEN 0 1 1
CAR -1 5 6 MIA 0 1 1 NYJ 0 1 1
LV -1 4 5 PHI -1 1 2 BUF 0 1 1
NO -1 5 6 CLE -1 2 3 PHI -1 1 2
SEA -1 5 6 CAR -1 2 3 KC -1 0 1
PHI -2 5 7 ATL -1 1 2 BAL -1 0 1
WAS -2 4 6 NYG -1 2 3 ARI -1 0 1
MIN -2 3 5 KC -1 1 2 DAL -1 1 2
MIA -2 2 4 LAR -1 1 2 DET -1 0 1
KC -3 4 7 PIT -2 2 4 LAR -1 0 1
NYG -3 5 8 NO -2 2 4 CAR -1 0 1
CIN -3 4 7 DAL -2 1 3 HOU -1 1 2
LAR -3 3 6 JAC -2 1 3 MIA -1 0 1
TB -4 4 8 LAC -2 0 2 IND -2 0 2
PIT -4 5 9 MIN -2 0 2 TB -2 0 2
LAC -4 3 7 LV -3 0 3 PIT -2 0 2
JAC -4 4 8 CIN -3 1 4 NYG -3 0 3
DEN -5 2 7 TEN -3 1 4 SEA -3 0 3

Best schedule strength

DJ Moore/Keenan Allen (CHI) – The Bears feature the top quarterback from the 2024 draft and that throws risk into the equation even for an elite talent. DJ Moore was new last year and succeeded but now has the young quarterback and will share with Keenan Allen. Caleb Williams still needs to prove his talent, but he has two competent receivers enjoying the lightest schedule strength in the NFL.

Marvin Harrison Jr./Trey McBride (ARI) – The Arizona receivers also face the same best-case schedule for 2024, but unlike the Bears, their quarterback is the veteran, and the wideout is the top-drafted in his position this year. Trey McBride was a breakout second-year tight end who returns to the same quarterback, coaches and scheme. Marvin Harrison Jr. is in a very advantageous position with marginal competition from the other Cardinal wideouts and also faces the softest schedule.

Amon-Ra St. Brown/Sam LaPorta (DET) – This is an interesting development. The Lions return the same scheme and players including Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was No. 2 in receptions last year (119) and Sam LaPorta who was the top fantasy tight end despite being a rookie. Now, all that greatness from 2024 is pitted against the third-best schedule strength. The only marginal downside is that there are no light matchups left after Week 13.

Garrett Wilson/Mike Williams (NYJ) – Can it finally be the Jets’ year? Garrett Wilson shined regardless of the otherwise mediocrity at quarterback last season. He gets, assumedly, a healthy Aaron Rodgers and a lighter schedule to boost his 2024 potential. Mike Williams has to learn a new offense and return from his ACL tear but at least face a lighter slate of defensive venues. The rookie Malachi Corley could also figure in if Williams is slow to return to form.

Worst schedule strength

Courtland Sutton/Josh Reynolds (DEN) – As if the coin flip between Bo Nix and Zach Wilson wasn’t scary enough, the Broncos are looking at the cruelest schedule for receivers with just two light matchups. They have a stretch during the season where eight games contain six bad venues and no good ones.

Christian Kirk/Brian Thomas (JAC) – The Jaguars lost Calvin Ridley but replaced him with Brian Thomas Jr., which should be a wash, if only eventually. The only saving grace to their rough outlook with eight poor matchups is that they had one of the worst schedules last year, and 2024 may be bad, but it is slightly better than 2023.

Joshua Palmer/Quentin Johnston (LAC) – It was already scary enough losing Mike Williams and Keenan Allen. And bringing in a far more conservative offensive scheme that seeks to run more and pass less. But the Chargers have one of the weakest pair of starters going against one of the worst schedule strengths which include only three lighter matchups all year.

George Pickens/Van Jefferson/Roman Wilson (PIT) – The Steelers imported the Falcons offense when they hired OC Arthur Smith who is fresh from the crash-and-burn of the Atlanta passing game the last couple of seasons. Russell Wilson and/or Justin Fields learn that new run-heavy scheme with sketchy receivers outside of George Pickens and face an NFL-worst nine games facing the toughest venues.

2024 weekly grid 

Fantasy points allowed per game to WRs

These are the values applied to this year’s schedule to determine strength of schedule for wide receivers and tight ends.

@PHI @MIN NYG DET CHI TB LAC DEN @WAS WAS JAC PHI @CIN LAR SEA @TEN
62.2 58.6 57.3 56.6 56.2 55.9 55.2 54.1 53.9 53.2 52.1 51.6 51.5 51.5 50.6 49.9
@DET @IND @MIA CIN MIA KC @SF @LAR ATL CLE @HOU @TB TEN @GB LVR HOU
49.8 49.4 48.7 47.8 47.8 47.7 47.7 47.0 46.9 46.6 46.2 45.9 45.9 45.4 45.3 45.1
PIT @LAC @JAC BUF NE @PIT @ARI @SEA SF NO ARI @DAL MIN @DEN BAL GB
45.0 44.9 44.8 44.8 44.5 44.4 44.3 44.1 43.8 43.8 43.4 43.0 43.0 42.5 42.3 41.9
@LVR @NO @BAL @NYG IND @NE @ATL CAR @CAR @BUF DAL @NYJ @CHI NYJ @KC @CLE
41.7 41.4 41.2 40.5 39.9 39.5 38.8 38.4 36.8 36.7 35.5 34.6 34.3 32.9 30.2 29.2

 

Keenan Allen says Bears defense looks like a ‘top 5’ unit

New Bears WR Keenan Allen had high praise for Chicago’s defense.

New Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen practiced for the first time at Halas Hall on Tuesday to kick off mandatory minicamp, where he got his first glimpse of this Chicago defense.

As evidenced by last year’s training camp practices, the Bears defense — which returns most of its key starters from a year ago — is a vocal, boisterous group. And Allen experienced it firsthand.

The offense had its ups and downs during Tuesday’s practice, where they were solid during 11-on-11 and 7-on-7. But the defense dominated during both two-minute drills, forcing two three-and-outs. They definitely left an impression on Allen.

“They look like a top 5 defense,” he said. “They sound like a top 5 defense, too. Defenses are annoying, especially at practice. You just hear them every time they make a play. It’s hooray celebration. These guys are running up and down the sideline. So it’s annoying.

“Offense we get a first down. One guy just trots around. He comes back to the huddle. Everybody is like, ‘OK, what’s the next play?’ You don’t really see too much: ‘YEAHHHHHH!’ You don’t really get all that just because somebody did a rip-through and got back to the quarterback. So it is what it is. Their energy, the way they communicate, the way they get lined up,  definitely high-class.”

While the spotlight has been on rookie Caleb Williams and the offense this offseason, the defense is positioning itself to be a top unit in the NFL this season.

Despite a rough start to the 2023 season, Chicago finished the year as a top five defense. They return cornerstones cornerback Jaylon Johnson and defensive end Montez Sweat, one of the best linebacker groups with Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards and have a young secondary that could emerge as a top group in the league.

The offense is talented in its own right — with one of the league’s best receiver trios, a highly-touted rookie quarterback and other weapons — which should make for some entertaining battles this summer. In the end, iron sharpens iron.

Bears WR Keenan Allen ready to prove himself in contract year

Bears WR Keenan Allen said he’s ok with playing out his current one-year deal before a potential contract extension.

The Chicago Bears made a splash when they traded for wide receiver Keenan Allen this offseason, pairing him with DJ Moore and now rookie Rome Odunze for one of the league’s best receiver trios.

Allen was brought in to be a weapon for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, but he’s also entering the final year of his current contract where there are two other big names at receiver on the roster.

Back in March, Bears general manager Ryan Poles indicated the goal was to have Allen in Chicago beyond the 2024 season. But the Bears haven’t had contract discussions yet, and it’s likely those won’t come until during the season or even the offseason.

While Allen, 32, faces an uncertain future, he made it clear he wants to play for as long as he can.

“I’m going to let the play speak for itself,” Allen said. “And if they offer me something that I like, we’ll go from there.”

Right now, the receiver market is booming. The Minnesota Vikings signed Justin Jefferson to a four-year deal worth a reported $140 million with $110 million guaranteed. Elsewhere in the division, the Detroit Lions inked Amon-Ra St. Brown to a reported four-year, $120 million deal with $77 million guaranteed.

“The players are going to continue to get better,” Allen said. “They’re younger, bigger, stronger, faster, and they continue to raise the bar, so as long as they’re taking care of their job and vets like me, we just continue to do what we do and take the backseat and get paid as well.”

While some players would prefer not to risk injury playing without a long-term contract in place, Allen said he’s ok with playing out his current one-year deal before the Bears potentially offer to sign him to an extension.

“Yeah, absolutely,” he said. “I mean, that’s the goal right now is to go out and do what I always do and just try to remain who I am. And the market just got reset, so…”

Is Josh Palmer the Chargers’ most underappreciated player entering 2024?

A spotlight was put on Chargers WR Josh Palmer heading into his fourth year.

In a new NFL.com article, media members selected one “underappreciated” player from each of the league’s 32 teams. For the Chargers, a spotlight was put on wide receiver Josh Palmer heading into his fourth year.

His section of the article reads like this:

After taking over a cap-strapped roster this January, Jim Harbaugh and Joe Hortiz decided to create financial flexibility by gutting the receiver room. In the absence of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, who will emerge as Justin Herbert’s downfield target? Last year’s first-round pick, Quentin Johnston, left a lot to be desired in Year 1. This year’s second-round pick, Ladd McConkey, looks like he’ll do most of his work from the slot. So, when the Bolts’ cannon-arm quarterback wants to cut it loose, who’ll test the defense on the perimeter? It seems like a lot of people are forgetting about Palmer, possibly due to his injury-riddled 2023 campaign. The fourth-year pro already has a nice rapport with Herbert — as we saw in a handful of 100-yard outings over the past two seasons — and he possesses the most well-rounded, polished game in this receiving corps.

Palmer enters the final year of his rookie contract after racking up around 1,700 yards and nine touchdowns in his first three seasons. Injuries have been a concern for Palmer, particularly in 2023, as he dealt with a nagging knee sprain for most of the year.

However, the former Tennessee product has not always had a stable situation in the wide receiver room around him. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams missed significant time in Palmer’s 2022 season, where he was forced into a more prominent role early. The same could be said for 2023 when Williams tore his ACL in week 3. What has always been consistent is his connection with Justin Herbert, as mentioned in the article. Palmer was almost certainly headed for a career-high in receiving yards last year without the injuries.

With the Chargers lacking true prototypical X-receiver talent, Palmer will probably be the player asked to step up the most in that role after the Williams and Allen departures.

Bears OTAs: Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker among players absent for Friday’s practice

The Bears held their sixth and final OTA practice on Friday. Here are the players who were not present or did not practice.

The Chicago Bears wrapped up their sixth and final day of voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) on Friday. It was the second practice open to the media, giving those in attendance a chance to see how the team has improved from last week. As is the case for voluntary practices, though, there were a few notable players absent from Friday’s session—including much of the starting secondary.

Cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon and safeties Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard were not present. Wide receiver Keenan Allen and defensive end Montez Sweat, who missed last Thursday’s practice, were also absent once again.

Meanwhile, guard Nate Davis, defensive end DeMarcus Walker, and linebacker TJ Edwards were at practice but did not participate. Guard Teven Jenkins did not participate in team drills, according to NBC Sports Chicago’s Josh Schrock.

With much of the starting secondary missing, the offense was able to capitalize with a strong practice. According to The Athletic’s Adam Jahns, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams completed 13 of 15 passes in 7-on-7 against the first-string defense. It was a strong day for the young signal caller, as he was able to bounce back from a rough outing last week.

As for why players like Johnson and Gordon were absent, head coach Matt Eberflus declined to go into specifics, but it is worth noting that Johnson has a charity outing for his foundation, “Kevvy’s Vision,” this weekend in California, per The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain. Eberflus expects everyone to be back next week, however, when mandatory minicamp gets underway. Those practices take place June 4–6.

New Orleans Saints game previews: Week 8 at Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints game previews: Week 8’s road game against the Los Angeles Chargers reunites Saints with an old rival in Jim Harbaugh

The New Orleans Saints head to Los Angeles in Week 8 for a late kickoff against the Chargers on Oct. 27. This will be the first of the Saints’ two games against the L.A. teams this season, as they will also host the Los Angeles Rams later down the road.

It’s been a few years since these teams crossed paths. The Saints last saw the Chargers in the regular season in 2020 where they found themselves down 17 points late in the second quarter, only to climb back to secure a 30-27 overtime victory in Drew Brees’ final year with the team. The Chargers do however lead the series 7-6 versus the Saints all-time, dating back to their first win in 1973.

This offseason, the Chargers hit a bit of a reset button starting with the hire of longtime Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who has been one of the most successful coaches in both the NFL and the NCAA; he’s an old rival of the Saints’, having gone 3-1 against them in his four years with the San Francisco 49ers, including the playoffs. The Chargers let go of some major contributors specifically on the offensive side of the ball, letting wide receiver Mike Williams and running back Austin Ekeler walk in free agency. The team also decided to trade six-time Pro Bowl wideout Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears this offseason as well.

With this though, the team did add some real talent in the draft through their first two days. In Round 1, the Chargers selected offensive tackle Joe Alt out of Notre Dame who was arguably the best tackle in his class to pair up with All-Pro left tackle Rashawn Slater. On Day 2, they went on to add one of the most crafty route-runners in the draft in Georgia’s Ladd McConkey to help fill a void at the position. On the very same day, Jim Harbaugh made a pick of his very own in selecting Michigan linebacker Junior Colson to solidify a front seven led by Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa. Needless to say, a nice influx of youth for the Chargers.

The Chargers aren’t the same team they were a couple years ago with the amount of talent they had on the offensive side of the ball, but the Saints will still have to plan for quarterback Justin Herbert. In Herbert’s lone game against the Saints in his rookie season, he threw for 264 yards and 4 touchdowns, almost single-handedly winning the game for his team before the Saints rallied back. The past couple years have been underwhelming for him and his team but with head coach Jim Harbaugh at the helm, we can expect improvement from the young player.

What the Saints can’t overlook however, is the L.A. pass rush. Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa pose the NFL’s best pass rushing duo when healthy. Just last season, Mack recorded 17 sacks for his team which was good for third in the NFL. Joey Bosa on the other hand recorded 6.5 sacks in 9 games before sustaining a season ending foot injury sidelining him for the rest of the year. With the Saints offensive tackle situation still uncertain, the team will undoubtedly have their hands full against this duo. It may even be the deciding factor in this one. But we will see, we’ve got quite a ways to go until then.

  • Game information: New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers
  • Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.
  • Date: Oct. 27
  • Time: 3:05 p.m. CT / 4:05 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: FOX

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Bears’ top 3 receivers ranked among best in NFL by PFF

Pro Football Focus named Bears wideouts DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze among the top 32 WRs.

Some people might say you’re a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL if you’re one of the league’s 32 best. But some teams have more than one player who meets the criteria, others zero. It seems the Chicago Bears have three to be very excited about.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Bears have one of the best receiving trios in the NFL. Sam Monson ranked the top 32 receivers in the NFL heading into the 2024 season, and Chicago is well-represented with DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and rookie Rome Odunze.

There are a few teams represented on this list twice. However, the Bears are the only team that has three players featured. That is a luxury that this franchise has never had. It would be nice to see these guys go out there and live up to it.

Moore was Chicago’s highest-ranking wideout at No. 12, and it’s easy to see why. Moore, acquired in the massive trade of the No. 1 pick in 2023, is coming off a career year with 96 receptions for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns.

Allen, acquired via trade this offseason, is next on the list at No. 22. He’s had at least 100 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in five of the last seven seasons. Last season, Allen was sixth in the NFL with 108 receptions — and he did that in just 13 games — for 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns.

Odunze rounded out Chicago’s top three at No. 29, which is great for a rookie. He’s coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with Washington, including 92 catches for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023. Odunze was also the third rookie named along with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers.

Moore, Allen, and Odunze are all capable of being the team’s WR1, but it doesn’t sound like any egos are going to keep them from being a great trio. Winning is the most important thing in the NFL and having a receiving room this good can help you win if everyone is bought in. They seem to be.