Months after trading Michael Pìttman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Indianapolis Colts finally added another bona fide pass catcher for their wide receiver corps. Better late than never, Keenan Allen is in town.
Allen has already worked with head coach Shane Steichen, who served with the Los Angeles Chargers in multiple assistant coaching roles. And while he's not in his prime anymore, he's still a highly productive guy who can keep an offense ahead of the sticks.
Allen's skill set will be much welcome in Indianapolis, but it comes with a caveat. He's just 47 receptions away from tying franchise legend Marvin Harrison for the third-most all-time, so the Colts will essentially help him take one of the greatest players in club history off the podium.
Keenan Allen can make NFL history with the Indianapolis Colts
As things stand now, Allen is sitting at 1,055 career receptions, the tenth-most in NFL history. Harrison isn't that far ahead with 1,102, trailing only the legendary Jerry Rice (1,549) and Larry Fitzgerald (1,432).
With all due respect to a great player and borderline Hall of Famer like Allen, it's safe to assume that most people don't have him on the same tier as Harrison, an eight-time All-Pro selection, two-time leader in receiving yards and receptions, and one-time co-leader in receiving touchdowns.
However, there are many ways to be great. Allen might not be as flashy, but consistency matters. He's never had fewer than 60 receptions in a fully healthy season, and he's played in double-digit games in all but two seasons of his 13-year career, including five seasons without missing a single game.
He might not be as dominant, have the same insane catch radius and the otherworldly yards-after-catch ability Harrison showcased over his career, and he's still more than 2,500 yards and nearly 60 touchdowns behind him, but he's been the ultimate chain-mover for the best part of a decade.
Allen's presence will give Daniel Jones a reliable guy to turn to in crucial third-down situations, not to mention someone to take pressure off Alec Pierce, who's always been more of a big-play specialist and not a possession receiver.
Some may argue that playing an additional game will help drive up modern-day guys' numbers and hurt legends' legacies, and that's fair to a degree. However, that's just the way it goes in sports, and nothing Allen or any other Colts pass catcher does will ever be enough to erase what No. 88 did for this organization.
And as much as some fans will always pout about this, a relentless competitor like Marvin Harrison will certainly love to see Allen pass him in the all-time receptions list if that also helps his beloved Colts win some big games.
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