The Washington Commanders are looking for help in the return game. Washington received next to nothing from its punt and kick return teams in 2022 after it was a strength in 2021 with veteran returner DeAndre Carter.
For some reason, Washington allowed Carter to depart and used second-year wide receiver Dax Milne as the punt returner. Milne averaged 7.8 yards per punt return on 40 attempts. So finding a returner with a little more wiggle was a priority for the Commanders in 2023.
Enter undrafted free agent Kazmeir Allen. The jack-of-all-trades from UCLA was one of Washington’s priority signings after the 2023 draft.
After the first day of Washington’s rookie minicamp Friday, head coach Ron Rivera singled out Allen when asked about the kick and punt return game.
“Well, there are a couple guys out there, but one of the more notable names, and I’m gonna have to look it up and so I can say it properly, but he’s a young man we got out of UCLA,” Rivera said.
“He’ll wear number 10 out there, Kazmeir Allen. He played some slot for them, some wide receiver for them, some running back for them and then he returned both kickoffs and punts for them, and he did ’em in the bowl game in the All-Star games as well. So he’s a young man that most certainly has gotten our attention, and he’s a young guy that we went out and tried to make sure we were able to recruit and bring him in as a free agent.”
After the 2023 NFL draft ended and we saw Allen signed with the Commanders, we immediately believed he could be Washington’s primary returner in 2023.
Allen has a ways to go to earn a roster spot, but he could make life difficult for Rivera and the Commanders to keep him off the 53-man roster this summer. When Rivera singled out Allen, you knew he had plans for him.
