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2015 Kick and Punt Returners (1 Viewer)

Greg, is Jarvis Landry no longer the starting kick returner and punt returner for Miami? I saw the recent post above from "The General" and your subsequent reply. But, according to the box scores from the first three preseason games, Landry hasn't handled a single kick or punt return. It's mainly been LaMichael James (with Christion Jones and Damarr Aultman mixed in). And I'm assuming LaMichael James is guaranteed a roster spot (unlike Christion Jones, who could be cut according to a previous post by you above).

See here:

Preseason Week 1 Box score - http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400791102

Preseason Week 2 Box score - http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400791106

Preseason Week 3 Box score - http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400791107

My draft is today (Aug 30th) at 5pm est. So if you could respond before then, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

 
After doing some digging, I found some positives to indicate that Jarvis Landry is still in the lead to do both Miami's kick and punt returns.

Aug 5th - Dolphins Special Teams Coach Darren Rizzi said Jarvis Landry is the front-runner to keep the punt and kickoff return jobs. Landry ranked fourth in the NFL in kick return average last season and 14th on punts.

“There’s many starters in the NFL that are returners, maybe don’t do both, maybe [do] one,” Rizzi said. “We have to decide down the road what the formula is going to be. We’re trying to develop a
pool of guys and make a decision from there.”

Those options include LaMichael James, Kenny Stills, Bobby McCain, Brent Grimes and roster long-shot Christion Jones.

Sources: A. http://miamiherald.typepad.com/sports-buzz/2015/08/heat-scheduled-for-christmas-again-ten-dolphins-notes-from-wednesdays-practice-um-marlins.html

B. http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/9405/jarvis-landry

Aug 10th - "Kickoff, punt return duties remain Jarvis Landry’s job to lose" Source: http://dailydolphin.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/08/10/kickoff-punt-return-duties-remain-jarvis-landrys-job-to-lose/

Aug 14th - "Dolphins' Jarvis Landry still wants PR/KOR duties" Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/sfl-dolphins-jarvis-landry-still-wants-prkor-duties-20150814-premiumvideo.html

Are you buying this Greg? Maybe they've just given the other guys all of the returns in the preseason since they already know what they have in Landry, and they want to know what they have behind him??

GoBills14 said:
Greg, is Jarvis Landry no longer the starting kick returner and punt returner for Miami? I saw the recent post above from "The General" and your subsequent reply. But, according to the box scores from the first three preseason games, Landry hasn't handled a single kick or punt return. It's mainly been LaMichael James (with Christion Jones and Damarr Aultman mixed in). And I'm assuming LaMichael James is guaranteed a roster spot (unlike Christion Jones, who could be cut according to a previous post by you above).

See here:

Preseason Week 1 Box score - http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400791102

Preseason Week 2 Box score - http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400791106

Preseason Week 3 Box score - http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400791107

My draft is today (Aug 30th) at 5pm est. So if you could respond before then, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
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I still think it's probably around 50/50 that Landry ends up with the returns, which hasn't really changed because of the lack of preseason returns.

When a returner is a known quantity and the coaches are still talking about them in the mix, they often won't see any returns in preseason. Coaches use the opportunity to try out other players, and may not see much gain in exposing the starter to extra hits when they already know what he can do.

I think I saw Devin Hester actually got a couple of preseason returns this year which was more surprising than if he hadn't gotten any. I want to say Ted Ginn didn't handle any returns for Arizona in preseason last year.

Where I would get concerned is if one of the players getting preseason returns is lighting it up and seems likely to make the team. I'm not sure I'd say Miami has anyone pushing that edge far enough to make me extra concerned. Like you said, LaMichael James has done enough returns he's kind of a known factor and I think is the biggest competition for Landry. And I'm also doubtful Christion Jones has done enough to be worth a roster spot.

I'd still treat Landry as being worth a little more than his regular value as a receiver but with a lot of potential upside. Just have to view him in your draft as a player with a lot of uncertainty in where he may produce. If you have a very solid team maybe you go for him earlier and hope for the upside. If you've already got players like Foster in the mix that hold a lot of uncertainty, maybe wait to take Landry based on just his receiving production.

 
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Just saw that the ESPN's beat writer's opinion is that James may have done enough now to lock up the returner job. I'll be dropping Landry's returns further based on it but will probably still leave him with a small number for the year. Landry might get called on still. James has had a tough time staying healthy in his time in the NFL, though he's done well with the opportunities he's had.

Edit to add: And James left the game with a chest injury, so this is going to be one to keep an eye on.

 
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Solomon Patton released by Denver.

Reports that Tandon Doss will be released by the Jaguars. That would make Rashad Greene the punt returner.

 
Jets cut Hakim and TJ Graham. So Chris Owusu and Walt Powell are the likely kickoff returners assuming they both survive the next set of cuts.

 
Saints trading Jalen Saunders to the Patriots.

With Edelman's injury situation they might be looking for some additional options at returner.

 
Trindon Holliday released. George Atkinson or Taiwan Jones could end up with kickoffs and Carrie punts.

Bears put Senorise Perry on IR.

Ravens cut DeAndre Carter. Lardarius Webb has begun practicing. Ravens situation is pretty up in the air. Asa Jackson has seen a lot of the work though Campanaro and Webb have had injuries. Jackson fumbled a punt after a great kick return. Reportedly the team doesn't want to use Webb or Steve Smith, but might have to consider. They also were giving some other players a look in practice, though probably less likely to make the roster.

Cardinals gave Kerwynn Williams and Jaxon Shipley a chance this week on kick returns and Shipley a chance on punts. Williams did pretty well, but I don't know if either of them will end up ahead of Golden. If Golden makes the roster, Shipley probably won't from the sound of it. JJ Nelson was back on punt returns in the first half too, but didn't get to return any.

 
Ameer Abdullah and Jeremy Ross were the two returners for the Lions this last game. I still think Ross sees the majority of the returns barring injury or the Lions thinking Abdullah isn't getting enough touches on offense and want to find a way to give him a few more.

 
Gopher State said:
I am starting to see value in Ginn,he will be on the field as wr, and should return both ko/pr. Anyone else see value
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I think the question is how much he's going to get as a receiver. Not counting any return stuff, the highest projections for him on FBGs have him around WR100.

 
Trying to find info on 2 guys. Any help is greatly appreciated. Are these guys gonna be returning kicks for their teams?

Asa Jackson - Ravens

Omar Bolden - Broncos

Thanks!

 
Asa Jackson is up in the air. If he could hang onto the ball he'd probably be the returner without doubt based on the long returns he's had this preseason. But he keeps turning the ball over. 3rd game he didn't call for a fair catch and got leveled on a punt and lost it. This last game he fumbled one during the return. They could still stick with him, or go with Campanaro, or some lesser known player who makes the final roster. Or could go with Webb or Steve Smith. Not a situation you can feel confident about, Jackson may not make the team if he doesn't end up the returner.

Omar Bolden and Burse have gotten the most work and Bolden seemed to have the lead early on but the Broncos haven't done well on returns. There's talk Emmanuel Sanders could get back involved on punt returns again. Again, not someone I think you can depend on getting the returns, but he might still end up getting them.

 
Thanks for the very informative response Greg! Hoping Asa can hold onto the ball and return duties going forward!

Lastly, I thought (hoped) the Colts may use Dorsett as both KR and PR to start the season. Any chance of that? I saw that he has only returned a couple of punts during preseason.

 
Kaelin Clay cut by Tampa Bay. Not sure who will handle returns now. Adam Humprhies, Rannel Hall or Bobby Rainey maybe?

Jeremy Ross got cut by Detroit so returns there are open. TJ Jones, Ameer Abdullah, Golden Tate. Coach said that they might split up the duties based on things like position on the field, game situation, etc.

Jarryd Hayne made the 49ers. Not sure if he'll handle punt returns to start with, but I expect we'll see him before the year is out if not.

Ravens cut Asa Jackson. See above posts for potential replacements at returner.

Panthers cut Jordan Todman which should give kickoff returns to Ted Ginn and Fozzy Whittaker. Bersin, another past returner, was also cut.

Jets cut their two main kickoff options, Owusu and Powell. ESPN saying Zac Stacy may get a shot there. Kerley survived and is handling punts.

Denver cut Isaiah Burse.

 
Goblue41 said:
Thanks for the very informative response Greg! Hoping Asa can hold onto the ball and return duties going forward!

Lastly, I thought (hoped) the Colts may use Dorsett as both KR and PR to start the season. Any chance of that? I saw that he has only returned a couple of punts during preseason.
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Still not sure who the Colts are going to use at kick returner. Could be a number of people including Dorsett, Moncrief, Whalen and Daniel Herron.

 
matuski said:
NE KR/PR? Edelman?
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That they traded for Jalen Saunders would make me think he's probably got the best shot of seeing the returns.

But they have a slew of other people they could use. Edelman (if healthy), Amendola, plus Boyce and Chris Harper did decent in preseason.

Saunders probably did worse in the game he played with them than Boyce and Harper did. So it's not a sure thing.

EDIT: Saunders was released by the Patriots. Guess the conditions on that conditional pick probably let them cut him.

 
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Greg Russell said:
matuski said:
NE KR/PR? Edelman?
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That they traded for Jalen Saunders would make me think he's probably got the best shot of seeing the returns.

But they have a slew of other people they could use. Edelman (if healthy), Amendola, plus Boyce and Chris Harper did decent in preseason.

Saunders probably did worse in the game he played with them than Boyce and Harper did. So it's not a sure thing.
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Cadet?

 
LawFitz said:
If he doesn't become the starter at RB, I think Ameer Abdullah might be the Lions primary KR/PR.
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Abdullah is expected to be used as Detroit's kick and punt returner, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Spin: Abdullah returned just two kicks for 47 yards in the preseason and did not return a punt. With Jeremy Ross cut, however, Abdullah will get plenty more opportunities to show off the open-field ability that made him Detroit's second-round pick - something to keep in mind when considering drafting Detroit's defense and special teams.

 
I missed Jalen Saunders getting cut by New England. Kelly's Heroes asked about Travaris Cadet. He could definitely be an option, but New England has an awful lot of guys not even atop the depth chart that they have used on returns, including Blount, Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung. Hard to say if Cadet would get a chance amidst all of that or not. I'd assume it's going to be Amendola on kick returns, and if Edelman isn't back healthy for punts yet, he will probably handle punts too.

Houston: Imagine it's mostly some combo of Keshawn Martin and Keith Mumphery.

Baltimore is going with Campanaro it sounds like.

Denver paper had a quote from Kubiak about Sanders being used on punt returns.

Asa Jackson signed with the Giants but they have Dwayne Harris as a returner.

Jordan Todman signed with Pittsburgh.

Raiders cut George Atkinson which takes away some more competition from Travis Carrie and Taiwan Jones.

Weird one on the Jets and Chris Owusu who is now re-signed and presumably back on kickoffs.

The Jets had to be down to 53 players by 4 p.m. on Saturday. But they couldn't designate Milliner on short-term IR until 4 p.m. on Sunday. Which meant Milliner had to stay on the 53-man until the Jets were permitted to shift him to short-term IR, while the Jets also no doubt scoured the waiver wire. Owusu getting cut on Saturday was just some necessary roster shuffling, then.
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Dunbar and Beasley look like they are the returners over Whitehead for Dallas.

TJ Jones is listed as both kick and punt returner for the Lions. Golden Tate is listed as the backup punt returner and Josh Wilson and Abdullah as backup kick returners. I mentioned earlier the coaching staff said they may use different people depending on game situation.

 
Texans have Demps listed at KR with Mumphrey backing him up, and Mumphrey as the punt returner with Keshawn Martin as the backup. I wouldn't be surprised if KR is more of a timeshare there.

Jags listed Corey Grant ahead of Denard Robinson on kickoffs.

Dion Lewis made it onto the Patriots depth chart as the backup KR to Amendola. Which knowing Belichick probably means he isn't in the running for any returns. ;)

Bucs depth chart is going with Adam Humphries at both KR and PR, with Bobby Rainey as the backup.

 
Redskins have Chris Thompson listed as the starting KR. Andre Roberts at PR. Those could change as the season progresses with Crowder having missed a lot of camp with injury.

 
Cardinals got their depth chart up. Brittan Golden has the KR, but J.J. Nelson is listed as the punt returner.

 
Hi Greg!

I'm really high on Lockett as a returner with some receiving potential as well. Could he be so much of a threat that he gets kicked away from more often than not which ends up really decreasing his value? He has looked so good that I fear he just gets avoided at all costs by opposing kickers.

 
Goblue41 said:
Hi Greg!

I'm really high on Lockett as a returner with some receiving potential as well. Could he be so much of a threat that he gets kicked away from more often than not which ends up really decreasing his value? He has looked so good that I fear he just gets avoided at all costs by opposing kickers.
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It can definitely impact his production, but being willing to bring deep kickoffs out can offset or even overcome the problem.

Cordarrelle Patterson's rookie year is a good example of this. Here are all of the Vikings kickoff returns that year:

Player Rt Yds TD

Cordarrelle Patterson*+ 43 1393 2

Toby Gerhart 7 106 0

Matt Asiata 2 28 0

John Carlson 2 13 0

Jerome Felton 2 22 0

Sharrif Floyd 2 9 0

Chase Ford 2 17 0

Joe Banyard 1 6 0

Rhett Ellison 1 7 0

A.J. Jefferson 1 21 0

Marvin Mitchell 1 6 0

Joe Webb 1 9 0

Jarius Wright 1 9 0

Patterson had 43 returns, but 23 kickoffs were returned by others, Many of them short kicks to keep the ball out of Patterson's hands. So pretty much 1/3 of the returns were kept from Patterson... yet his 43 returns was still 2nd most in the NFL behind Hester that season.

So, I would not be too pessimistic about Lockett not getting opportunities. I think he'll bring it out more than most which can make up for it if people do kick away from him.

 
49ers listed both return slots with Bush first, then -or- and Hayne and Ellington at PR, and Hayne and DeAndrew White on KR.

 
Will start up the Returner Recap article next week. In the meantime will post some injury news here.

Coach said early in the week that Devin Hester was going to play, but he has since been ruled out. Eric Weems will probably get the returns, Nick Williams could see some too.

De'Anthony Thomas is probable but might not see a full work load.

There are media reports that the 49ers might not have Jarryd Hayne on their active roster on game day, including talk from the special teams coach. It could be that's the truth or they could just be playing head games. Apparently Hayne was playing on the scout team, which lends itself towards the possibility he won't dress.

Eagles finally released a depth chart. Kenjon Barner's preseason earned him back the backup spots, but Sproles is listed as PR and Josh Huff as KR still.

Saints still haven't posted a depth chart, but with Spiller out I would expect to see Marcus Murphy handle most of the returns.

 
EastonBlues22 said:
In spite of what the NE depth chart says, Amendola has been fielding punts all game instead of Edelman.
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They both handled punts to some extent last year, though Edelman saw more of them. I'd expect that to happen this year too. Edelman is just back from injury so they might have limited him due to that. I have Edelman as getting more over the course of the year, but had them a more even split for this game due to that. If it continues though, will have to adjust.

 
Anyone see a returner that may have not gotten any returns because they went out of bounds but know that he is the return guy and also gets his share of action during the regular offense? I see Moncrief had one KR for 5 yards but didn't see the play. Was he an up man and recovered a short kick or is he the deep guy? Also saw Josh Huff back for KR for Philly but didn't have a chance to return any. He was targeted 3 times in the offense with two catches.

 
Greg,

Do you know if TJ Carrie lost his punt return job? All of a sudden his projected points on yahoo went from about 7 to 2 1/2. Kind of odd. Any news? I can't find any. Thanks as always!

 
Goblue41 said:
Greg,

Do you know if TJ Carrie lost his punt return job? All of a sudden his projected points on yahoo went from about 7 to 2 1/2. Kind of odd. Any news? I can't find any. Thanks as always!
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I haven't seen anything to that effect. As far as I know he's still handling punts.

Even if you had 1 pt per 10 punt return yards, I think anyone projecting him for 45 punt return yards would be going out on a limb as a most likely number. I have Baltimore projected at 2.9 punts, with 1.2 returnable. Which turns into about 9-10 punt return yards for Carrie.

 
Thanks Greg! It's jut looked odd that his projected points (total) has dropped to about 2 1/2 per game which includes tackles. It's not just this week. The projections for all weeks changed dramatically all of a sudden. It just looked like yahoo took away all of his return yardage projections and kept the tackle projections. Thanks for always answering so quickly.

 
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DerbyDad said:
Anyone see a returner that may have not gotten any returns because they went out of bounds but know that he is the return guy and also gets his share of action during the regular offense? I see Moncrief had one KR for 5 yards but didn't see the play. Was he an up man and recovered a short kick or is he the deep guy? Also saw Josh Huff back for KR for Philly but didn't have a chance to return any. He was targeted 3 times in the offense with two catches.
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Moncrief just lost his footing and fell around the 5 yard line. He was splitting time on returns with Varga.

I sent in the returner recap article so it should be going live Wednesday. There's a job changes section where I try to highlight anything from the week that might change our outlook going forward. It normally won't mention something like Huff... he was the returner as expected so nothing was unusual, just they were touchbacks. But it covers when there's a potential change in the pecking order, like Ellington getting the 49ers returns with Bush injured and after Hayne muffed a punt.

 
Greg,

In your opinion, is Bolden even worth owning now that he has lost his punt return duties and gets very few tackles as a backup safety! I have him in an idp league that counts return yardage.

 
It would really depend on the scoring system, both for returners and for regular IDP stats. The best thing going for him probably is that there aren't a lot of IDP who return kicks, and the ones who do tend to handle punts more than kickoffs. But that still might not get him even with what a good safety will score without being a returner. Just depends on the system.

 
Texans traded Keshawn Martin to the Patriots.

ESPN NFL Nation Patriots reporter Mike Reiss offered these thoughts on how Martin will fit with his new team:

Prior to the trade, the Patriots had just three receivers on their 53-man roster -- Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson. They also have two receivers on the practice squad, Kenbrell Thompkins and Nathan Palmer, and there’s a possibility that undrafted pass-catcher Chris Harper -- who made the initial 53-man roster -- returns on the practice squad after clearing waivers Wednesday.

Martin’s work as a returner might have appealed to the Patriots, who might not want to expose Edelman and Amendola to those duties given the shortage at the receiver position.

Once the trade becomes official, and assuming it doesn’t involve another player, the Patriots would need to clear a spot on their 53-man roster for Martin.
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Ellington is a late addition to the injury report, and Bush is already out. Jarryd Hayne could see more time both at backup RB and on punts this week. Possibly kickoffs too though they have DeAndrew White there still.

 
Hi Greg,

Looks like Quintin Demps didn't return the one kick return opportunity this Sunday that the Texans had. Has he lost that job already?

 
Goblue41 said:
Hi Greg,

Looks like Quintin Demps didn't return the one kick return opportunity this Sunday that the Texans had. Has he lost that job already?
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Demps had the first return and it was a touchback. Worthy got the second and it was returnable... he was just signed from the practice squad and he could have been in there from wanting to see how he did in a real game, or just giving Demps a breather on a hot day after the defense had been on the field a lot.

Then Demps handled the next 3 kickoffs, all touchbacks. It's always possible they could switch up, but I haven't seen anything to suggest it's happening.

 
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Couple of happenings with fantasy significant players.

Dion Lewis handled kickoffs for the Patriots.

Patrick Peterson might be back on punt returns for Arizona. J.J. Nelson was injured and Peterson handled punts the rest of the game, but Arians said he wanted Peterson in on the punt Nelson was injured on, but made the decision too late to make the switch. So it wasn't strictly injury related that Peterson handled returns.

Landry is still on punts, but Raheem Mostert is handling kickoffs.

 
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Rashad Greene put on IR with designation to return. Jaguars re-signed Bryan Walters and the punt returns will probably be Walters, Nick Marshall or some combo of the two.

 
Owusu reportedly will miss 2 weeks. Jets have Bilal Powell and Zac Stacy listed behind him in the depth chart. My guess is they use Stacy before Powell but that's just a guess.

 
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