Let me touch on just a moment on kick returns. Many leagues award credit when a player scores a touchdown on a kickoff of punt return, and there are some who also dole out bonuses for return yardage. So it makes sense to look at those roles.
In each of the last three years, there have been only 7 TDs scored on kickoff returns. So in a rough sense, if you have an average team, it’s got about a 25 percent chance of scoring one kickoff return touchdown during the season. And they averaged only 700 kickoff return yards last year (though that could go up, given the rules adjustments of the offseason).
For punts, teams have scored 10 TDs two years in a row (so about a 33 percent chance of one punt return touchdown for each team). And they averaged 272 yards on punt returns last year.
So it’s not a huge piece of statistical production we’re looking at, but I suppose it all depends on how you score it. If you’re giving 1 point for every 10 return yards, then a player who handles both could easily go for about 1,000 total yards. If you get a player returning kicks and also contributing on the field, he’ll in general finish with a decent chunk of yards.
Below is a stab at identifying the players who’ll return kicks for each of the 32 teams. On these, I listed (if available) the player that the team says will return kicks. These are coming off the “depth chart” areas at each of the 32 teams sites.
Three teams don’t have depth charts on their sites. (Looking for that extra edge, apparently.) Those include the Bengals, Texans and Cowboys. Two other teams have depth chart areas, but they’re blank right now: Bills and Seahawks.
For those five teams, I listed the players I think they’ll be using (tagged with black dots). With the Seahawks, they had Tyler Lockett identified as their return guy last week. For most of the others, I’m using last year’s data and what I saw in the preseason.
Some are interested in players who both play significant roles on the field and return kicks. I have those guys in bold.
| LISTED KICK RETURNERS FOR 2018 SEASON | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | Kickoff Returns | Punt Returns |
| Arizona | T.J. Logan | Christian Kirk |
| Atlanta | Justin Hardy | Justin Hardy |
| Baltimore | Tim White | Tim White |
| Buffalo | •Taiwan Jones | •Marcus Murphy |
| Carolina | Damiere Byrd | Damiere Byrd |
| Chicago | Benny Cunningham | Tarik Cohen |
| Cincinnati | •Darius Phillips | •Adam Erickson |
| Cleveland | Jabrill Peppers | Jabrill Peppers |
| Dallas | •Jourdan Lewis | •Tavon Austin |
| Denver | Phillip Lindsay | Isaiah McKenzie |
| Detroit | Ameer Abdullah | Jamal Agnew |
| Green Bay | Trevor Davis | Trevor Davis |
| Houston | •Tyler Ervin | •Tyler Ervin |
| Indianapolis | Nyheim Hines | Chester Rogers |
| Jacksonville | Corey Grant | Jaydon Mickens |
| Kansas City | DeAnthony Thomas | Tyreek Hill |
| LA Chargers | Desmond King | Travis Benjamin |
| LA Rams | Pharoh Cooper | Pharoh Cooper |
| Miami | Jakeem Grant | Jakeem Grant |
| Minnesota | Marcus Sherels | Marcus Sherels |
| New England | Cordarrelle Patterson | Julian Edelman |
| New Orleans | Tommylee Lewis | Tommylee Lewis |
| NY Giants | Cody Latimer | •Kaelin Clay |
| NY Jets | Andre Roberts | Andre Roberts |
| Oakland | Dwayne Harris | Dwayne Harris |
| Philadelphia | Darren Sproles | Darren Sproles |
| Pittsburgh | Ryan Switzer | Ryan Switzer |
| San Francisco | Matt Breida | Trent Taylor |
| Seattle | •Tyler Lockett | •Tyler Lockett |
| Tampa Bay | Jacquizz Rodgers | Adam Humphries |
| Tennessee | Adoree Jackson | Adoree Jackson |
| Washington | Greg Stroman | Jamison Crowder |
A few names that come to mind:
Tyreek Hill. Kansas City apparently wants him to be a top-10 wide receiver. He’s going to catch a lot of balls. So I am skeptical that he’ll also return punts. They’ve also got DeAnthony Thomas, and I would be willing to bet that Thomas will return more punts than Hill this year.
J.J. Jones. He caught my eye in the preseason. He looked dangerous on kick returns, and he scored on a 72-yard punt return against Seattle. He looks really fast. The Chargers claim that he is their 4th-string kickoff returner and 4th-string punt returner, but I think he’ll be their guy.
John Ross. He returned some punts in the preseason but didn’t look comfortable. I’ll bet the Bengals instead will go with more reliable and experienced Adam Erickson.
Julian Edelman. He’s listed as the punt returner for the Patriots but is suspended for the first four games. Patrick Chung is listed as their second option.
Dante Pettis. The 49ers drafted him in the second round because they thought he would be a punt return weapon, but he’s listed behind their slot receiver, Trent Taylor. Surprising. San Francisco also has Matt Breida listed as their top kickoff returner, but he’s currently one of their two main running backs (maybe their starter). Wouldn’t surprise me if Pettis ends up being the main returner for both in San Francisco.
Tyler Lockett. In leagues giving credit for return yards, he’s a key guy – a starting receiver who chips in an extra 1,000 yards on returns. But some chance the Seahawks at some point use others on returns. They kept David Moore, and he had a punt return touchdown nullified in the preseason. When J.D. McKissic gets healthy, he’ll be a possibility on kickoffs. Would save Lockett some wear and tear.
Darren Sproles. Is he really going to handle both for the Eagles? He missed most of last year, sat out the preseason and is 35 years old.
Damiere Byrd. There are currently 14 teams that say one player is going to return both kickoffs and punts. Of those guys, I think Byrd might be the best. Others in this group who look pretty likely to take one back all the way this year include Pharoh Cooper, Adoree Jackson and Jakeem Grant. I’ll put J.J. Jones in that group when the Chargers start using him.
—Ian Allan