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As soon as the Washington Commanders signed former UCLA wide Kazmeir Allen after the 2023 NFL draft, we said they might have found their new kick/punt returner for 2023 — and beyond.
At Washington’s rookie minicamp, Allen caught the eye of head coach Ron Rivera, who made sure to single out Allen, even if he got his name a bit wrong.
At OTAs this week, Allen has been involved in the offense, with multiple catches and targets, according to Zach Selby of commanders.com.
When Rivera met with the media Wednesday, he again singled out Allen.
“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 when asked about the kick and punt return game.
“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.”
Rivera answered this by saying no other names. He also mentioned the multiple positions Allen played for Chip Kelly at UCLA, and we know how much Rivera values “position flex.”
Training camp is two months away, and Allen is a name you should remember when the team reports in late July.