The New England Patriots had the worst receiving corps in the NFL last season, so they have done a whole lot of work to improve the unit over the last several months.

However, a legitimate argument can be made that there is still more to be done, especially considering that the Patriots will be relying heavily on a 31-year-old Stefon Diggs, who is recovering from a torn ACL.

Will New England make another move before the start of the 2025 campaign? Ryan Kennedy of Chowder & Champions feels it’s a possibility, linking the Pats to six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen, who is somehow still available in free agency.

“The free agent market has a few big names still left out there. Keenan Allen is the biggest of them all,” Kennedy wrote. “While Allen could serve as a real mentor to the young receivers, he’s primarily a slot receiver, and that is what Drake Maye and the Patriots should be in the market for. Allen plays more than half of his possessions out of the slot.”

This is the first time we have heard Allen’s name connected to the Patriots, at least in recent memory. Many expected the 32-year-old to reunite with the Los Angeles Chargers — where he played the first 11 seasons of his NFL career — after taking a one-year detour with the Chicago Bears in 2024, but it doesn’t seem like the Chargers have much interest in bringing him back.

While Allen would be a rather tempting addition, his age doesn’t really make that much sense for a New England squad that is in obvious rebuilding mode, even if the Pats have already signed two receivers on the wrong side of 30 in Diggs and Mack Hollins.

The Patriots should be more interested in cultivating their young receivers — like DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and rookies Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III — than adding another veteran at this point, especially considering that Allen’s best days certainly appear to be behind him.