Vikings Draft Targets: Keenan Allen’s Stock May be Plummeting

September 8, 2012; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen (21) celebrates after returning a punt for a touchdown against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. The California Golden Bears defeated the Southern Utah Thunderbirds 50-31. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Keenan Allen was supposed to be one of the surer bets among this year’s wide receiver class. Everyone knew he wasn’t blazing fast but he had the hands and the polished skills and the route-running and the size and everything else you might need. He would not be the first receiver taken, you had to figure, but he would be a solid first round pick.

But things haven’t gone well for Allen since the end of the college season. In fact his problems started before the end of the season when he injured his knee. Questions about that knee persisted into the offseason. He was forced to skip all the combine workouts and did only limited work at Cal pro day. And when he finally did run for scouts, his 40 time was in Manti Te’o territory. Which isn’t good news.

You wouldn’t have thought things could look much worse for Allen after that. But they got worse. We have now learned that Allen was red flagged for a drug test at the combine after a suspicious amount of water showed up in his sample. His agent is spouting the usual denials but the red flag is there nonetheless. Teams now have that to factor into their process as well. Some draftniks have this guy sliding well into the second.

You could argue this is actually good news for the Vikings. If they want this guy, they can probably wait until the late second and still get him, and use their two firsts on defense. But do the Vikings even still have this guy on their board? We know character is a big deal for Rick Spielman and the gang. At least they keep saying it is. The drug test is certainly not a check mark in the “pro” category. And there’s the speed issue and the knee issue.

Lots of issues suddenly for a guy who once looked like a slam dunk first rounder.

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