Tag: kick returners

Breaking down the Lions depth chart vs. Steelers in the preseason finale

Breaking down the Lions depth chart vs. Steelers in the preseason finale and where practice reps don’t match what’s listed

The final offseason depth chart is now out for the Detroit Lions. This week’s unofficial edition of the Lions roster and how it stacks up was prepped for the final preseason game, Saturday’s home date with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Ford Field.

The starters are pretty well-established on both sides of the ball, and it’s almost certain none of them will see the field against Pittsburgh. Behind that first line, there are a few interesting placements.

It starts at wide receiver, where Donovan Peoples-Jones is listed on the third team offense. Tom Kennedy, Daurice Fountain and Maurice Alexander are all on the second unit ahead of Peoples-Jones, who was expected to earn the No. 4 WR job at the start of training camp.

Kaden Davis, who scored an impressive touchdown in the exhibition win over the Chiefs, is behind Peoples-Jones on the fourth line. Undrafted rookies Isaiah Williams and Jalon Calhoun are listed ahead of Davis, though practice reps throughout the week would place Davis over the entire second-team line at wide receiver. The same is true for Williams, who saw some first-team reps in Tuesday’s session.

Injuries have really shaken up the practice participation for the offensive line lately, with starting RG Kevin Zeitler and reserve tackles Dan Skipper and Giovanni Manu missing practices, plus rookie guard Christian Mahogany still inactive on the non-football illness list. Seeing Skipper listed as the second-team left tackle over Jamarco Jones could be an indication the team still sees Skipper that highly. That’s one to watch in the Steelers game.

Defensively, the depth chart here looks very representative of what we’ve seen in practice when the Lions are in a base nickel package. When they go three LBs, it’s Amik Robertson (or Ennis Rakestraw) in the slot who comes off and Derrick Barnes playing the SAM role. Mitchell Agude has quickly ascended to the second line at SAM while also getting reps that are consistent with Isaac Ukwu and James Houston at end.

One point of contention comes on special teams, specifically the return specialists. Kalif Raymond is the first-team punt returner, but I’ve not seen Peoples-Jones even queue up for reps at punt returner behind him. It’s Isaiah Williams and Maurice Alexander, in that order.

Kick returner also features Williams, Alexander and rookie RB Sione Vaki all getting substantially more reps than either Craig Reynolds or Khalil Dorsey. That’s one of the biggest remaining battles–seeing who earns the jobs (there are two full-time now) as the kick returners.

The NFL’s new kickoff format: Everything you need to know

The NFL’s new kickoff format: Everything you need to know about the changes to kickoffs and kick returns adopted for the 2024 season

The NFL adopted a radical new kickoff and kick return format for the 2024 season during the annual owners’ meetings in Orlando this week. The changes effectively transform what has become a yawning procedural touchback into the exciting, potentially impactful play it was in the XFL.

In fact, the new NFL kickoff is taken straight from the XFL’s innovative twist on the special teams play.

New NFL kickoff diagram (Courtesy Eric Galko on X)

It’s going to look quite a bit different. Among the primary changes:

  • Kickoffs are now from the 35-yard line.
  • Rather than all members of the kicking team lined up at the 35, now they’re advanced to the opposing 40-yard line, or 25 yards in front of the kicker.
  • The receiving team starts out more condensed. All the players on the receiving team, with the exception of one or two designated returners, start out between their own 30- and 35-yard lines.
  • Kick returners, no more than two of them, line up anywhere behind the 30-yard line.
  • No players other than the kicker and the returners are allowed to move until the ball is either caught by the returner, lands inside the landing zone (between the 20-yard line and the goal line), or is brought out of the end zone by the returner.
  • Any kick that hits the landing zone must be returned, including if it bounces into the end zone. The returner can kneel for a touchback on kicks that bounce from the landing zone into the end zone, and that touchback goes to the 20-yard line.
  • If a kick doesn’t reach the landing zone or goes out of bounds either on the fly or via bouncing out, the receiving team gets possession at its 40-yard line.
  • If the kicked ball enters the end zone on the fly, the receiving team can either return it or kneel for a touchback that goes out to the 30-yard line.
  • No fair catches.

This is a sample kick return from the XFL, which is now merged into the new UFL, that is effectively what the NFL kickoffs will now look like.

As for onside kicks, they are now only allowed in the fourth quarter of games and must be declared to the officials before the onside kick attempt. No more surprise onside kicks.

Lions won’t reveal who will be the team’s kick returner in Week 1

Lions special teams coach Dave Fipp refused to divulge who will be Detroit’s kick returner in Week 1

One of the great mysteries of the 2022 Detroit Lions will finally be solved on the opening kickoff in Ford Field on Sunday. And not one second earlier.

Just who will be the Lions’ kick returner?

Ever since the team unexpectedly cut Godwin Igwebuike–last year’s primary return man–in the final roster cutdown, the kick return position has been unresolved. Head coach Dan Campbell has refused to divulge who will replace Igwebuike when asked about it.

Now special teams coach Dave Fipp has also turned tight-lipped. In his press conference prior to Thursday’s practice, Fipp coyly demurred on giving a straight answer.

“Yeah, so I would say we’ll find out. I’m not going to give that away obviously, but we’ll find out on Sunday. And I will say I’m excited about it, we’ve had a handful of guys back there in the preseason, and I think all those guys have done a good job,” Fipp said.

When presented with the fact that RB Craig Reynolds is the only player on the 53-man roster who returned a kick this preseason, Fipp acknowledged No. 46 is an option. But he did little to clue in just how strong of an option Reynolds might be.

“Yeah, I feel totally comfortable with it. I would just put it like that,” Fipp said of Reynolds. “I would say it could be Craig (Reynolds), he’s obviously an option. There’s guys on the practice squad depending on who we bring up, which is a whole other conversation. But based off that, it could be one of those guys, so we’ll find out.”

Those other options include WR Kalif Raymond, who is penciled in as the primary punt returner but did not get a lot of run as a kick return option. Two players fit Fipp’s bill of practice squad guys: RB Justin Jackson and WR Tom Kennedy. Top receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is theoretically an option as well, though it’s difficult to envision the Lions risking a return injury on such an integral piece of the offense.

5 things to know about Jason Huntley

Here are five things fans need to know about Detroit Lions fifth-round pick, New Mexico State, running back/kick returner Jason Huntley.

I wasn’t exactly thinking the Lions would draft another running back right now, but here we are. So, what are five things can I tell you about the newest running back and speedster Jason Huntley?

He’s fast. How fast is he you ask?

  1.  While he didn’t get a combine invitation, he was able to have a Pro Day before the COVID restrictions hit.  He ran a 4.37 (or 4.4 flat, I’ve seen both) 40-yard-dash.  He would have been tops among the running backs had he been in Indy.
  2. In his 2019 season, he rushed for almost 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns. He also caught 40 passes, and two of those were touchdowns as well. According to his coach Doug Martin, he can also be used as a slot receiver — so, he’s got some versatility to him.
  3. Staying with the versatility theme, he’s the only running back in this class to also have over 1,000 receiving yards in college as well.
  4. Most people already have him pegged as a potential kick returner on special teams and over his college career he returned five kickoffs for touchdowns.
  5. He played against Central Michigan University this past season when he had this impressive run:

Welcome to Detroit Jason! Just watch out for those speed traps that pop up every now and then, and you’ll be great!