Keenan Allen a Sell-High Candidate After Breakout Week 8 Performance

On Thursday night, I begrudgingly watched Keenan Allen put on an early show for his second double-digit point total of the season. It was just the day before, after all, that I had traded the San Diego Chargers receiver.

That regret slowly turned into relief as Allen had similar results later in the game. Fantasy owners who didn't give up on Allen on Thursday Night Football were rewarded with a great night from the wide receiver.

Prior to the great game, Anita Marks and Stephen Nelson debated what to do with the disappointing player:

Smart owners also know Allen's sudden emergence makes him great trade bait in fantasy.

Against the division rival Denver Broncos, Allen put up 73 yards and his first touchdown of the year. That was good enough for his second-best fantasy night of the season, much to the chagrin of owners who benched him, as Luke Easterling of The Draft Report notes:

During his young career, Allen has regularly exploded in Denver, accounting for five of his 11 career touchdowns at Mile High Stadium. Even after the huge performance, nothing is guaranteed moving forward in the San Diego Chargers offense.

As promising as Thursday night looked for Allen, he remains just one target in a pass-heavy offense headed by Philip Rivers. Joined by explosive weapons like Antonio Gates, Malcom Floyd and Eddie Royal, Allen is simply not a consistent option.

Even after a hot start against the Broncos, Allen faded down the stretch after the two-yard touchdown. In PPR leagues, Allen's struggles have been even more evident, per Seth Klein of FantasyPros.com:

While owners are well aware of his disappointing season, some might still see the upside in his game. Those owners, my friends, are the ones to dangle Allen in front of to see what the return might be.

Sure, trading away Allen at this point won't get a surefire WR2 in return, but sexy breakout stars can be had. For example, dealing Allen for the likes of either Jerick McKinnon, Odell Beckham Jr. or Tre Mason after this weekend might bring more production than Allen.

That type of return also gives keeper and dynasty owners a reason for optimism. But as Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus notes, hanging on to Allen might be an option as well:

Coming up for Allen and the Chargers is a matchup with the Miami Dolphins, who have allowed just 15.02 fantasy points to receiving corps. Following the bye, games against the Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams make him an even more enticing target.

What I'm essentially doing here is giving you reasons to convince other owners to take him. Meanwhile, his matchups against the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers in the fantasy playoffs will make current owners cringe.

For those in need of making a deal to shore up the rest of the season, dealing Allen now is a smart decision. Otherwise, he'll have to be trusted the rest of the way—something owners simply can't afford to do at this point.

All fantasy stats courtesy of NFL.com.

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