Kick returns this season are going to be a whole new experience. One that may require a whole new breed of return specialists. Punt returns should stay relatively the same. But there could still be a battle for who gets that job this season.
The new kickoff rules are such that neither team moves until the ball lands. So, there will be no running start for the coverage team. That means the previous ideas of what a kick returner will look like have changed.
It becomes a new job with a new set of skills that should be more akin to that of a running back than a speedy wide receiver or cornerback as was previously most common. Though some receivers could also thrive in this role. There are a lot of unknowns and therefore a position truly up for grabs.
For that reason, I can’t do a simple player vs player here.
A topic of discussion when the team drafted Dylan Laube in the sixth round of April’s draft was that perhaps his skillset would translate perfectly to the new kick return duties. We shall see.
Second year receiver Tre Tucker would figure to be the favorite for the punt returner job. Others who fielded punts in minicamp included Tyreik McAllister, Ameer Abdullah, Tulu Griffin, DJ Turner, and Nate Hobbs.
My take:
I must say, I don’t have one. Mainly because I don’t think the Raiders have one just yet. The rule is so new that there is a lot still to figure out. Each team’s special teams coordinator will have their own ideas of how to best attack the new rule. Who they like handling those duties will change as their plans change.
In the meantime, special teams may actually be something worth watching in camp and preseason this year. The hope being that there are fewer touchbacks and therefore kick returns become a bigger part of the game than they were before.