Assistant general manager Lance Newmark said that Washington Commanders sixth-round pick Kaytron Allen can pick up the underappreciated "dirty yards" on a drive, and because of that, there are some who want to pigeonhole the former Nittany Lion into the hyper-specific "short yardage role" in the Commanders backfield.

Allen is happy to get on the field regardless of the situation, but being a bruiser is only part of the skill set he hopes to show at the NFL level.

"I'm excited to show the world what I can really do," Allen told Commanders host Bryan Colbert Jr. on the latest episode of "Raising Hail with the rookies." "I feel like I haven't shown everything I can really do."

To be fair, Allen was better than most running backs in college football at filling the physical role. He had back-to-back 1,100-yard seasons with 23 touchdowns in his final two years with Penn State. He faced heavy boxes (more than seven defenders) on 27% of his carries, the most in his class, in 2025 and still averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Only 11% of his runs failed to gain yardage, which is impressive when considering the nearly 16 touches he averaged per game.

But Allen didn't become Penn State's all-time leading rusher by picking up short yardage. He might not have gotten the same level of fanfare as Jeremiyah Love, Mike Washington Jr. or Jadarian Price -- all of whom were drafted ahead of him -- he had either similar or superior numbers in multiple categories. He had the fifth-most yards after contact and was tied for fourth in missed tackles.

In terms of generating explosive plays, Allen ranked seventh in runs of at least 10 yards, which was tied with Washington. He generated 1,303 yards on designed runs – just 69 yards behind Love. He also tied with Washington on designed runs of more than 15 yards (17), and he ranked fourth in breakaway yards with 527.

Allen feels like his versatility to affect games in different ways is his most underrated trait.

"I feel like I can do everything as a running back," Allen said. "I feel like I can run the ball; I can catch the ball; I can run routes; I can do different things."

That should please new offensive coordinator David Blough, who values players who can fit different roles to stay on the field. Allen has already shown some of that with the other responsibilities required of NFL running backs. He had the third-best pass protection in his draft class, according to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, and while he only has 70 catches in his career, he has a reception rate of 74.1%.

Now, he's joining an offense that will allow him to show the other parts of his skill set, and that gets him excited.

"I think they just try to put a label on me that's not what it really is," Allen said. "Time will tell."