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Returner Recap and Latest News

Footballguys Staff's Returner Recap and Latest News
By Footballguys Staff, December 26, 2013

Returner Recap and Latest News
Photo: USA Today Sports

Week 16 Recap

 

Top Performers

No touchdowns were scored on returns in Week 16, leaving only yardage to separate the returners.

Perhaps Micah Hyde was looking over his shoulder after hearing Randall Cobb was close to playing in Week 16. The Packers returner's 167 kick return yards were enough to top the list for both kick return yards and total return yards, though Hyde added enough punt return yards to push his total to 183 for good measure.

Keeping with the NFC North theme started by Hyde, a duel continued to wage for top returner of the year between Devin Hester of the Bears and Cordarrelle Patterson of the Vikings. The pair are atop the season leader board, and in Week 16 they both amassed 143 kickoff returns, though Patterson gained his in four returns while Hester required six. Though Patterson maintains a slim lead on kick return yards for the season, Hester's 207 extra yards on punt returns has him comfortably ahead in total return yards for the year.

Keshawn Martin led all punt returners with 5 returns for 70 yards as the Texans returner tries to show with punt returns that he should regain the kickoff return role as well. Micheal Spurlock in Dallas and Jeremy Ross in Detroit finished behind Martin, each with a single punt return but Spurlock taking his 62 yards and Ross carrying his for 50. Spurlock and Ross are interesting as a pair, as they are once and again teammates this season, formerly together on the Lions until Spurlock spent Week 16 on the Cowboys, before being released and now re-signed by the Lions for Week 17.

All Week 16 Returners

Here are all returners for Week 15 sorted by total return yards:

RankPlayerTeamKick RetKR YdsKR TDPunt RetPR YdsPR TDTotal YdsTotal TDs
1 Micah Hyde GNB 5 167 0 2 16 0 183 0
2 Devin Hester CHI 6 143 0       143 0
3 Cordarrelle Patterson MIN 4 143 0       143 0
4 Greg Jenkins OAK 6 140 0       140 0
5 Trindon Holliday DEN 4 99 0 5 21 0 120 0
6 Micheal Spurlock DAL 3 51 0 1 62 0 113 0
7 Jeremy Ross DET 3 51 0 1 50 0 101 0
8 Jacoby Jones BAL 2 61 0 4 36 0 97 0
9 Nick Williams WAS 4 95 0       95 0
10 Knile Davis KAN 3 94 0       94 0
11 Fozzy Whittaker CLE 3 92 0       92 0
12 Marcus Thigpen MIA 3 75 0       75 0
13 Keshawn Martin HOU       5 70 0 70 0
14 LaMichael James SFO 2 49 0 2 20 0 69 0
15 Robert Turbin SEA 3 68 0       68 0
16 Felix Jones PIT 4 63 0       63 0
17 Ted Ginn Jr CAR 2 41 0 2 20 0 61 0
18 Doug Baldwin SEA 2 57 0       57 0
19 Michael Cox NYG 1 56 0       56 0
20 Emmanuel Sanders PIT 1 54 0       54 0
21 Darren Sproles NOR 1 21 0 4 30 0 51 0
22 Jacquizz Rodgers ATL 2 50 0       50 0
23 Golden Tate SEA       3 47 0 47 0
24 Javier Arenas ARI 2 46 0       46 0
25 Quintin Demps KAN 2 46 0       46 0
26 Kerry Taylor JAX 1 43 0       43 0
27 Antonio Brown PIT       2 41 0 41 0
28 Jordan Poyer CLE       2 39 0 39 0
29 Keenan Allen SDG       3 35 0 35 0
30 Santana Moss WAS       3 35 0 35 0
31 Justin Veltung STL       3 34 0 34 0
32 Robert McClain ATL       2 33 0 33 0
33 Griff Whalen IND       4 32 0 32 0
34 Kendall Hunter SFO 1 30 0       30 0
35 Brandon Tate CIN 1 3 0 2 27 0 30 0
36 Jason Snelling ATL 1 23 0       23 0
37 Dexter McCluster KAN       3 23 0 23 0
38 Rueben Randle NYG       3 23 0 23 0
39 Dennis Johnson HOU 1 22 0       22 0
40 Shane Vereen NWE 1 22 0       22 0
41 Marcus Sherels MIN       1 22 0 22 0
42 Eric Weems CHI 1 19 0       19 0
43 Brad Smith PHI 1 17 0       17 0
44 Josh Morgan WAS 1 12 0       12 0
45 Julian Edelman NWE       1 11 0 11 0
46 Ronnie Brown SDG 1 9 0       9 0
47 Jerome Felton MIN 1 9 0       9 0
48 Charles Clay MIA 1 8 0       8 0
49 Chris Polk PHI 1 8 0       8 0
50 Michael Ford CHI 1 7 0       7 0
51 Marvin Mitchell MIN 1 6 0       6 0
52 Patrick Peterson ARI       2 6 0 6 0
53 Damaris Johnson PHI       1 5 0 5 0
54 Joique Bell DET 1 4 0       4 0
55 Ace Sanders JAX       1 4 0 4 0
56 Danny Woodhead SDG 1 2 0       2 0

Top THIRTY to Date

 Here are the top thirty returners for the year based on total return yards. 

RankPlayerTeamKick RetKR YdsKR TDPunt RetPR YdsPR TDTotal YdsTotal TDs
1 Devin Hester CHI 47 1315 0 17 207 1 1522 1
2 Cordarrelle Patterson MIN 40 1342 2       1342 2
3 Keshawn Martin HTX 33 864 0 39 345 1 1209 1
4 Brandon Tate CIN 32 835 0 31 301 0 1136 0
5 Marcus Thigpen MIA 36 840 0 31 237 0 1077 0
6 Trindon Holliday DEN 28 775 1 31 271 1 1046 2
7 Dwayne Harris DAL 26 792 0 17 238 1 1030 1
8 Jacoby Jones RAV 25 723 1 18 234 0 957 1
9 Quintin Demps KAN 30 892 1       892 1
10 Ted Ginn Jr CAR 25 564 0 23 283 0 847 0
11 Micah Hyde GNB 21 513 0 23 296 1 809 1
12 Jeremy Ross DET 20 494 1 15 255 1 749 2
13 Eric Page TAM 19 479 0 23 251 0 730 0
14 Tavon Austin RAM 18 398 0 33 280 1 678 1
15 Jordan Todman JAX 24 662 0       662 0
16 Dexter McCluster KAN 1 3 0 57 654 2 657 2
17 Golden Tate SEA 3 57 0 49 587 0 644 0
18 Fozzy Whittaker CLE 29 638 0       638 0
19 Micheal Spurlock DET 18 389 0 23 207 0 596 0
20 David Reed CLT 24 590 0       590 0
21 Josh Cribbs NYJ 20 490 0 8 96 0 586 0
22 Jacquizz Rodgers ATL 25 575 0       575 0
23 Taiwan Jones RAI 24 572 0       572 0
24 Darius Reynaud TOT 18 430 0 18 135 0 565 0
25 Damaris Johnson PHI 17 441 0 12 100 0 541 0
26 Felix Jones PIT 23 510 0       510 0
27 Leon Washington TEN 15 446 0 5 60 0 506 0
28 LaMichael James SFO 10 259 0 20 206 0 465 0
29 Javier Arenas CRD 20 446 0       446 0
30 Darren Sproles NOR 11 233 0 28 194 0 427 0

Week 17 Outlook

Job Changes

Chiefs running back Knile Davis continues to get more opportunities as a kick returner. Week 16 he split time with Quintin Demps and slightly outperformed him. Do not be surprised if Davis sees the larger portion this week as well.

Randall Cobb was close to playing in the Packers' Week 16 game, so has a very good chance to be active in the final game of the regular season. However, with Micah Hyde performing solidly, it would be risky to expect Cobb to see many returns his first week back.

As previously noted, Micheal Spurlock was only a Cowboy long enough to have a cup of coffee and play in the team's Week 16 game. Spurlock was released and then re-signed by the Lions, who will likely use Spurlock as a backup receiver while Jeremy Ross continues to handle returns.

Wide receiver Kerry Taylor continued to handle kickoff returns for the Jaguars. Taylor took over when Jordan Todman was needed as the starting running back. Despite Maurice Jones-Drew's return and Todman only seeing 6 rushes, Taylor handled every kickoff for the team.

INJURIES OF NOTE

Davone Bess has been used by Cleveland as a sure-handed option for punts that are likely to require a fair catch. Bess is dealing with a serious family matter and has been placed on the season ending Reserve/Non-Football Injury list. Jordan Poyer has handled the bulk of the punt returns and is likely to take on Bess's share of the load.

In Houston, Dennis Johnson suffered a hip injury which is impacting him enough that the team has already labelled Jonathan Grimes the starter at running back. Johnson had recently taken over kickoff returns from Keshawn Martin when the team changed special teams coaches in the wake of the Gary Kubiak firing. Expect Martin to handle the kickoffs for the Texans' final game.

Week 17 Team Return Projections

Receiving TeamKR yardsKR TDsPR yardsPR TDsTotal YardsTotal TDs
Kansas City Chiefs 110 0.03 15 0.04 125 0.06
Cleveland Browns 100 0.03 22 0.03 121 0.05
Chicago Bears 106 0.05 13 0.03 119 0.08
Houston Texans 85 0.02 26 0.03 110 0.05
Dallas Cowboys 96 0.02 14 0.02 110 0.04
Baltimore Ravens 91 0.04 17 0.02 108 0.07
San Francisco 49ers 78 0.02 22 0.03 101 0.05
New York Giants 78 0.02 19 0.02 96 0.04
Jacksonville Jaguars 78 0.02 17 0.02 95 0.04
Detroit Lions 71 0.02 20 0.02 91 0.04
Arizona Cardinals 63 0.02 27 0.06 89 0.08
New England Patriots 59 0.01 30 0.04 89 0.05
Miami Dolphins 60 0.02 29 0.04 89 0.05
New York Jets 61 0.02 27 0.03 88 0.05
Tennessee Titans 64 0.02 23 0.03 87 0.04
Green Bay Packers 76 0.02 9 0.01 85 0.03
Denver Broncos 59 0.03 26 0.06 85 0.09
Minnesota Vikings 67 0.03 18 0.02 84 0.05
Philadelphia Eagles 55 0.01 27 0.06 83 0.08
Buffalo Bills 51 0.01 29 0.07 80 0.08
Washington Redskins 59 0.01 21 0.03 80 0.04
St. Louis Rams 68 0.03 10 0.02 78 0.04
Cincinnati Bengals 50 0.01 27 0.04 78 0.05
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 60 0.02 13 0.02 74 0.03
San Diego Chargers 49 0.01 24 0.03 73 0.04
Oakland Raiders 49 0.01 18 0.02 66 0.03
Indianapolis Colts 39 0.01 26 0.03 65 0.04
Pittsburgh Steelers 43 0.01 19 0.02 62 0.03
New Orleans Saints 43 0.01 19 0.05 62 0.06
Carolina Panthers 40 0.01 18 0.05 59 0.06
Seattle Seahawks 34 0.01 22 0.03 56 0.04
Atlanta Falcons 34 0.01 19 0.02 53 0.03

Week 17 Player Return Projections

PlayerTeamPositionKR yardsKR TDsPR yardsPR TDsTotal Ret YardsTotal TDs
Devin Hester Chicago Bears DB 98 0.05 11 0.03 110 0.08
Keshawn Martin Houston Texans WR 76 0.02 23 0.03 99 0.05
Jacoby Jones Baltimore Ravens WR 83 0.04 13 0.02 95 0.06
Fozzy Whittaker Cleveland Browns RB 90 0.02 0 0.00 90 0.02
LaMichael James San Francisco 49ers RB 64 0.02 20 0.03 84 0.04
Jeremy Ross Detroit Lions WR 64 0.02 17 0.02 81 0.04
Micah Hyde Green Bay Packers CB 72 0.02 9 0.01 81 0.03
Marcus Thigpen Miami Dolphins RB 54 0.01 26 0.03 81 0.05
Leon Washington Tennessee Titans RB 58 0.01 20 0.03 78 0.04
Trindon Holliday Denver Broncos WR 54 0.03 21 0.05 75 0.08
Knile Davis Kansas City Chiefs RB 72 0.02 0 0.00 72 0.02
Brandon Tate Cincinnati Bengals WR 45 0.01 21 0.03 67 0.04
Kerry Taylor Jacksonville Jaguars WR 62 0.02 0 0.00 62 0.02
Dwayne Harris Dallas Cowboys WR 51 0.01 8 0.01 59 0.02
Javier Arenas Arizona Cardinals DB 56 0.01 3 0.00 59 0.02
Cordarrelle Patterson Minnesota Vikings WR 54 0.03 0 0.00 54 0.03
Ted Ginn Jr Carolina Panthers WR 36 0.01 17 0.04 54 0.05
Kyle Wilson New York Jets DB 37 0.01 15 0.02 51 0.03
Niles Paul Washington Redskins TE 47 0.01 0 0.00 47 0.01
Marquise Goodwin Buffalo Bills WR 46 0.01 0 0.00 46 0.01
Terrance Williams Dallas Cowboys WR 45 0.01 0 0.00 45 0.01
Brandon Boykin Philadelphia Eagles DB 44 0.01 0 0.00 44 0.01
Jerrel Jernigan New York Giants WR 39 0.01 2 0.00 41 0.01
Quintin Demps Kansas City Chiefs DB 39 0.01 1 0.00 40 0.01
Tavon Austin St. Louis Rams WR 35 0.02 5 0.01 40 0.03
Emmanuel Sanders Pittsburgh Steelers WR 39 0.01 0 0.00 39 0.01
Darius Reynaud New York Jets RB 24 0.01 12 0.01 36 0.02
Eric Page Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR 24 0.01 12 0.02 36 0.02
Travaris Cadet New Orleans Saints RB 34 0.01 2 0.00 36 0.01
Josh Boyce New England Patriots WR 29 0.01 5 0.01 35 0.01
Taiwan Jones Oakland Raiders RB 34 0.01 0 0.00 34 0.01
Isaiah Pead St. Louis Rams RB 33 0.01 0 0.00 33 0.01
Cassius Vaughn Indianapolis Colts DB 31 0.01 0 0.00 31 0.01
Michael Cox New York Giants RB 31 0.01 0 0.00 31 0.01
Julian Edelman New England Patriots WR 6 0.00 25 0.03 31 0.03
Golden Tate Seattle Seahawks WR 8 0.00 20 0.02 28 0.03
Leodis McKelvin Buffalo Bills DB 0 0.00 27 0.07 27 0.07
Greg Jenkins Oakland Raiders WR 15 0.00 12 0.02 27 0.02
Marcus Sherels Minnesota Vikings DB 12 0.00 14 0.02 26 0.02
Darren Sproles New Orleans Saints RB 9 0.00 17 0.04 25 0.04
Skye Dawson Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR 24 0.01 1 0.00 25 0.01
DeSean Jackson Philadelphia Eagles WR 0 0.00 24 0.06 24 0.06
Patrick Peterson Arizona Cardinals DB 0 0.00 24 0.06 24 0.06
Rueben Randle New York Giants WR 8 0.00 15 0.02 22 0.02
LaVon Brazill Indianapolis Colts WR 8 0.00 13 0.02 21 0.02
Keenan Allen San Diego Chargers WR 0 0.00 20 0.02 20 0.02
Ronnie Brown San Diego Chargers RB 19 0.00 0 0.00 19 0.00
Danny Woodhead San Diego Chargers WR 19 0.00 0 0.00 19 0.00
Jordan Poyer Cleveland Browns DB 0 0.00 19 0.02 19 0.02
Robert Turbin Seattle Seahawks RB 17 0.00 2 0.00 19 0.01
Jacquizz Rodgers Atlanta Falcons RB 17 0.00 0 0.00 17 0.00
Antonio Brown Pittsburgh Steelers WR 0 0.00 17 0.02 17 0.02
Santana Moss Washington Redskins WR 0 0.00 17 0.02 17 0.02
Anthony Dixon San Francisco 49ers RB 14 0.00 2 0.00 16 0.01
Robert Alford Atlanta Falcons DB 15 0.00 1 0.00 16 0.00
Jordan Todman Jacksonville Jaguars RB 16 0.00 0 0.00 16 0.00
Josh Morgan Washington Redskins WR 12 0.00 2 0.00 14 0.01
Damaris Johnson Philadelphia Eagles WR 11 0.00 3 0.00 14 0.01
Ace Sanders Jacksonville Jaguars WR 0 0.00 14 0.02 14 0.02
Dexter McCluster Kansas City Chiefs WR 0 0.00 13 0.03 13 0.03
Griff Whalen Indianapolis Colts WR 0 0.00 13 0.02 13 0.02
Bobby Rainey Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR 12 0.00 0 0.00 12 0.00
Robert McClain Atlanta Falcons CB 0 0.00 12 0.02 12 0.02
Devin McCourty New England Patriots DB 12 0.00 0 0.00 12 0.00
LeGarrette Blount New England Patriots RB 12 0.00 0 0.00 12 0.00
Adam Jones Cincinnati Bengals DB 5 0.00 6 0.02 11 0.02
Greg Little Cleveland Browns WR 10 0.00 0 0.00 10 0.00
Eddie Royal San Diego Chargers WR 5 0.00 4 0.00 9 0.01
Doug Baldwin Seattle Seahawks WR 8 0.00 0 0.00 8 0.00
Deonte Thompson Baltimore Ravens WR 8 0.00 0 0.00 8 0.00
Eric Weems Chicago Bears DB 8 0.00 0 0.00 8 0.00
Mike Gillislee Miami Dolphins RB 6 0.00 3 0.00 8 0.00
Damian Williams Tennessee Titans WR 6 0.00 2 0.00 8 0.00
Dominique Franks Atlanta Falcons DB 2 0.00 6 0.01 7 0.01
Alfonso Smith Arizona Cardinals RB 7 0.00 0 0.00 7 0.00
Dennis Johnson Houston Texans RB 4 0.00 2 0.00 6 0.00
Micheal Spurlock Detroit Lions WR 4 0.00 2 0.00 6 0.00
Cole Beasley Dallas Cowboys WR 0 0.00 6 0.01 6 0.01
Lavelle Hawkins San Diego Chargers WR 5 0.00 0 0.00 5 0.00
Marcus Easley Buffalo Bills WR 5 0.00 0 0.00 5 0.00
Justin Veltung St. Louis Rams WR 0 0.00 5 0.01 5 0.01
Tandon Doss Baltimore Ravens WR 0 0.00 5 0.01 5 0.01
Randall Cobb Green Bay Packers WR 4 0.00 0 0.00 4 0.00
Deji Karim Houston Texans RB 4 0.00 0 0.00 4 0.00
Felix Jones Pittsburgh Steelers RB 4 0.00 0 0.00 4 0.00
Joique Bell Detroit Lions RB 4 0.00 0 0.00 4 0.00
Jarius Wright Minnesota Vikings WR 0 0.00 4 0.00 4 0.00
Jacoby Ford Oakland Raiders WR 0 0.00 4 0.00 4 0.00
William Blackmon Jacksonville Jaguars DB 0 0.00 3 0.00 3 0.00
Kenjon Barner Carolina Panthers RB 2 0.00 1 0.00 3 0.00
Andre Caldwell Denver Broncos WR 3 0.00 0 0.00 3 0.00
Wes Welker Denver Broncos WR 0 0.00 3 0.00 3 0.00
Eric Decker Denver Broncos WR 0 0.00 3 0.00 3 0.00
Omar Bolden Denver Broncos DB 2 0.00 0 0.00 2 0.00
Markus Wheaton Pittsburgh Steelers WR 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
Joe Hayden Cleveland Browns DB 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
Nick Williams Washington Redskins WR 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
Jayron Hosley New York Giants DB 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
Armond Smith Carolina Panthers RB 2 0.00 0 0.00 2 0.00
Phillip Adams Oakland Raiders DB 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
Jim Leonhard Buffalo Bills DB 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
Earl Bennett Chicago Bears WR 0 0.00 1 0.00 1 0.00
Harry Douglas Atlanta Falcons WR 0 0.00 1 0.00 1 0.00
T.J. Graham Buffalo Bills WR 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
Photos provided by USA TODAY Sports
Tags Projections Returners Robert Alford Keenan Allen Tavon Austin Kenjon Barner Cole Beasley Antonio Brown Randall Cobb Marquise Goodwin Micah Hyde DeSean Jackson Taiwan Jones Devin McCourty Cordarrelle Patterson Patrick Peterson Jordan Poyer Emmanuel Sanders

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