The Green Bay Packers and new special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia must make decisions on all three specialist positions – kicker, punter and long snapper – this offseason, but the team shouldn’t overlook the glaring (and perpetual) need at kick and punt returner.
In 2021, Maurice Drayton picked rookies Amari Rodgers and Kylin Hill as his two primary returners. Hill went down with a season-ending knee injury on a baffling kick return attempt in Arizona, while Rodgers struggled for much of the season returning both kicks and punts. Overall, the Packers averaged 17.7 yards per kickoff return (30th in NFL) and 8.0 yards per punt return (21st).
Rodgers was unexpectedly poor as a rookie given his collegiate experience. He lacked confidence catching the ball and didn’t look explosive or threatening with the ball in his hands. Hill had no prior experience and was learning the job on the fly.
To be fair, Drayton didn’t have much for options. Malik Taylor got a handful of opportunities as an injury replacement but wasn’t good enough. Randall Cobb fumbled his only punt return attempt. David Moore was signed in December and had a strong performance as a returner in Week 17 against the Vikings, but didn’t play again.
This isn’t a one-off problem, either. In 2020, the Packers created exactly 53 punt return yards and had exactly one kickoff return over 30 yards. Tyler Ervin flashed at times after saving the return group over the second half of the season in 2019, but he couldn’t stay healthy in 2020 and wasn’t on the team in 2021. Darrius Shepherd was a dud. Signing Tavon Austin late in the year didn’t provide a spark.
The problem returning is as much a personnel issue as a coaching issue, and it’s past time for the Packers to go out and find legitimate returners, especially after spending a bunch of money to get Bisaccia to Green Bay.
In Las Vegas, Bisaccia had Hunter Renfrow returning punts and Kenyan Drake and Jalen Richard returning kicks. The difference in talent and explosiveness between what the Packers and Raiders trotted out at returner is stark.
Will general manager Brian Gutekunst be willing to use a roster spot on a designated returner? Or will Bisaccia be comfortable using key players to return punts and kicks?
Maybe Hill and Rodgers will return as second-year players and show the growth necessary to handle the roles better in 2022. This might be the best-case scenario; both will likely be secondary players on offense, and they’ll boost their roster value by providing help on special teams.
Still, Gutekunst shouldn’t bank on this scenario. Adding legitimate competition at returner – and not just banking on existing players to slide into the role and handle returns – should be on the to-do list this offseason. Hiring Bisaccia was a start, but if the Packers truly want to get better on special teams, committing to the personnel side and finding better players in key spots – like at returner – has to follow.