Penn State running back Kaytron Allen goes to the Washington Commanders in the 2026 NFL Draft

Penn State running back Kaytron Allen is officially off the board. The Norfolk, Va., native and all-time leading rusher for the Nittany Lions was selected Saturday by the Washington Commanders in the sixth round. He was the No. 187 overall pick in this year’s draft.

Eight Nittany Lions are now off the board. Allen joins Vega Ioane (Round 1 to Baltimore), Drew Allar (3 to Pittsburgh), Drew Shelton (4 to Dallas), Dani Dennis-Sutton (4 to Green Bay), Zakee Wheatley (5 to Carolina), Nicholas Singleton (5 to Tennessee), and Zane Durant (5 to Buffalo).

A four-year letterman, Allen was a consensus four-star prospect coming out of IMG Academy in the 2022 recruiting class. He was looked at as the second running back behind five-star Nick Singleton at the time, but Allen showed right away that he was far from a complementary piece, rushing for 867 yards and 10 touchdowns his true freshman season.

From there, his rushing totals would only increase in each of his remaining three seasons. Despite playing in four more games in 2024 compared to 2025, Allen rushed for nearly 200 more yards this past season – he had 1,303 yards compared to 1,108 in 2024 – and almost twice as many touchdowns with 15. Most of that came after the coaching change, including a 567-yard, five touchdown outburtst in the final three games that earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors three weeks in a row. Allen averaged 7.9 yards per carry during that stretch.

Maybe most impressive of all is that despite carrying the ball 769 times throughout his collegiate career, the 5-foot-11, 216-pound tailback never missed a game due to injury.

NFL media scouts break down Penn State RB Kaytron Allen

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein: Allen is productive with good size and vision, but below-average explosiveness. He’s a fluid runner with ideal patience and a natural feel for when to cut off his blocks. He runs low to the ground with the strength to run through arm tackles and fall forward after contact. A feel for lane development allows him to fit any run scheme, but his lack of burst is likely to constrict the field and limit his ability to find explosive runs. Allen appears to lack third-down and special-teams value, but he could earn a spot as a solid backup. 

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler: Allen isn’t an athletic freak like Singleton, but he has a better feel for the position and maximizes carries with his vision, physicality and body control. With his run instincts and blocking skills, he projects as a durable backup or low-end starter in the NFL.