By
Jamison Hensley | ESPN.com
The
Pittsburgh Steelers will have competition at running back and outside linebacker this year, although I believe rookies
Le'Veon Bell and
Jarvis Jones will win those jobs. The most wide-open battle in Pittsburgh is in the return game.
The release of
Chris Rainey in January forces the Steelers to find another kickoff returner, and the promotion of
Antonio Brown and
Emmanuel Sanders to the No. 1 and No. 2 wide receiver spots, respectively, likely means Pittsburgh will go with a new punt returner.
As the Steelers get ready to take the field for the first of three voluntary minicamps this week, you could make the case for around 10 players to compete over bringing back kicks and punts. But, when looking closely at the candidates, I see four as serious contenders to become the new returners.
On kickoff returns, running back and free-agent addition
LaRod Stephens-Howling has to be considered the favorite. His role as a returner decreased the past two seasons in Arizona, but he averaged 25.7 yards and scored three touchdowns on kickoffs in his first two seasons in the NFL.
The one returner who could unseat him is undrafted rookie
Reggie Dunn from Utah. He set the NCAA record for career 100-yard returns (five) and single-game 100-yard kickoff returns (two).
“He is an exciting player. He ran in the 4.3s on his pro day,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said of Dunn at a recent fan forum with season-ticke holders. “We’re excited because the speed (is something) you can’t teach. You have to give that young man the opportunity to prove what he can or can’t do on the field.”
Colbert said he's anxious to see how Dunn can handle punts. According to Colbert, Dunn didn't return many punts in college because Utah had others who were "quite honestly, better during his time there."
The other players who should get the opportunity to return punts are rookie sixth-round pick
Justin Brown and
David Gilreath. Brown averaged 13.5 yards per punt at Oklahoma and scored a touchdown. Gilreath, who holds the Big Ten for career kickoff returns, also ranked sixth in the Big Ten with an 8.8-yard average on punt returns before going undrafted in 2011. Last season, he returned two punts for a total of eight yards.
There's not as much mystery at returner around the AFC North. The Ravens kept
Jacoby Jones and the Bengals re-signed
Brandon Tate, but
Adam Jones and
Onterio McCalebb will push Tate. The Browns are expected to replace Pro Bowl returner
Josh Cribbs with
Travis Benjamin on punts and
Dion Lewis on kickoffs.
goes, I doubt he ever pans.
