Returner Recap and Latest News

Footballguys Staff's Returner Recap and Latest News Footballguys Staff Published 10/23/2013

UPDATES

The Browns have said Fozzy Whittaker will continue as the primary kickoff returner this week, with Travis Benjamin also getting some touches.

Ace Sanders is healthy enough he will be resuming his role as punt returner for the Jaguars.

 

Week 7 Recap

Top Performers

While Trindon Holliday amassed 139 total return yards in Week 7, the punt return touchdowns scored by Devin Hester of Chicago and Marcus Sherels of Minnesota pushed them ahead of Holliday in most fantasy scoring systems. Hester had the second most yards with 125 despite Washington kicking away from Hester so much that he had only two of his team's seven kickoff returns.  Quintin Demps also had an active day returning kicks in Kansas City, where he took 4 returns for 123 yards.

All Week 7 Returners

Here are the top returners sorted by total yards for Week 7:

RankPlayerTotal Ret YdsTDs
1 Trindon Holliday 139 0
2 Devin Hester 125 1
3 Quintin Demps 123 0
4 Marcus Sherels 119 1
5 Fozzy Whittaker 103 0
6 LeGarrette Blount 96 0
7 Cassius Vaughn 88 0
8 Travis Benjamin 86 0
9 Eric Page 83 0
10 Jacoby Jones 81 0
11 Tavon Austin 73 0
12 Darius Reynaud 72 0
13 Marcus Thigpen 70 0
14 Cordarrelle Patterson 69 0
15 Dwayne Harris 62 0
16 Jordan Todman 62 0
17 Josh Cribbs 61 0
18 Julian Edelman 58 0
19 Ted Ginn Jr 53 0
20 Josh Morgan 53 0
21 Marquise Goodwin 49 0
22 Javier Arenas 45 0
23 Emmanuel Sanders 44 0
24 Felix Jones 42 0
25 Joe Anderson 36 0
26 Micheal Spurlock 36 0
27 T.Y. Hilton 35 0
28 Dexter McCluster 32 0
29 Damaris Johnson 28 0
30 Keshawn Martin 28 0
31 Golden Tate 27 0
32 Stedman Bailey 26 0
33 Johnathan Franklin 26 0
34 Jerrel Jernigan 25 0
35 Rueben Randle 25 0
36 Eric Weems 23 0
37 Cedric Peerman 21 0
38 Jacquizz Rodgers 21 0
39 Kyle Williams 21 0
40 John Kuhn 19 0
41 Antonio Brown 18 0
42 Lavelle Hawkins 18 0
43 Micah Hyde 18 0
44 Jermaine Kearse 18 0
45 LaVon Brazill 16 0
46 Leodis McKelvin 14 0
47 Tyrann Mathieu 13 0
48 John Carlson 12 0
49 Tandon Doss 12 0
50 Keenan Allen 11 0
51 Cameron Heyward 11 0
52 Andre Smith 10 0
53 Sharrif Floyd 9 0
54 Adam Jones 8 0
55 Dante Rosario 6 0

Top THIRTY to Date

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

RankPlayerTotal Ret YdsTDs
1 Devin Hester 735 1
2 Keshawn Martin 614 0
3 Trindon Holliday 566 2
4 Dwayne Harris 563 1
5 Darius Reynaud 490 0
6 Cordarrelle Patterson 475 1
7 Damaris Johnson 464 0
8 Brandon Tate 392 0
9 Marcus Thigpen 355 0
10 Dexter McCluster 352 1
11 Travis Benjamin 332 1
12 Micheal Spurlock 303 0
13 Benny Cunningham 299 0
14 Quintin Demps 299 0
15 Ted Ginn Jr 297 0
16 Eric Page 287 0
17 Darren Sproles 285 0
18 David Reed 276 0
19 Golden Tate 270 0
20 Jacoby Ford 268 0
21 Tandon Doss 267 1
22 Felix Jones 259 0
23 Fozzy Whittaker 259 0
24 Julian Edelman 243 0
25 LeGarrette Blount 231 0
26 David Wilson 222 0
27 Clyde Gates 209 0
28 Deonte Thompson 201 0
29 Chris Thompson 196 0
30 Jermaine Kearse 187 0

Job Changes

The Colts have been using David Reed as the primary returner, but left him inactive in Week 7 despite being healthy. Cassius Vaughn handled most of the returns in Reed's place. Whether this signals a long term change, or was done to allow for an extra defensive back against the potent Broncos passing game bears close watching.

Fozzy Whittaker landed in Cleveland after having been cut by San Diego earlier in the season. The Browns immediately put Whittaker to work where he split return duties with Travis Benjamin. Greg Little is still listed atop the Browns depth chart with Whittaker second, though Little did not have a return in the game. The resulting situation is murky and any of the three could end up with returns in Week 8.

Tampa Bay claimed Bobby Rainey from waivers and likely will have him backup Eric Page.  Page is handling all of the return duties, including the kickoffs that would normally go to the injured Jeff Demps.

As mentioned last week, the Jets signed Josh Cribbs to handle kickoff returns, though when they took the field on Sunday the team also used Cribbs on punt returns. The former elite returner managed only a single kickoff return for 17 yards, but had punt returns of 8, 15 and 21 yards. He also ran the wildcat on offense and participated on kick coverage.

Jacoby Jones continued to handle kickoff returns while Tandon Doss took care of the punt returns for the Ravens. Doss continues to play well and looks like he may hold on to the punt return job for the rest of the year.

INJURIES OF NOTE

In a week when many key offensive and defensive players suffered serious injuries, the returners seem to have made it through without adding any significant injuries.

Week 8 Team Return Projections

Receiving TeamKR yardsKR TDsPR yardsPR TDsTotal YardsTotal TDs
Oakland Raiders 85 0.02 25 0.03 109 0.05
Minnesota Vikings 84 0.02 11 0.01 95 0.03
Jacksonville Jaguars 69 0.02 24 0.03 94 0.05
New York Jets 75 0.02 20 0.02 94 0.04
New Orleans Saints 59 0.01 33 0.04 92 0.06
Dallas Cowboys 62 0.02 27 0.03 89 0.05
New York Giants 73 0.02 16 0.02 88 0.04
New England Patriots 54 0.01 29 0.04 82 0.05
Green Bay Packers 57 0.01 23 0.03 81 0.04
Buffalo Bills 48 0.01 27 0.07 75 0.08
Atlanta Falcons 61 0.02 13 0.02 74 0.03
Detroit Lions 40 0.01 32 0.04 72 0.05
Philadelphia Eagles 47 0.01 23 0.03 70 0.04
Kansas City Chiefs 38 0.01 31 0.07 69 0.08
San Francisco 49ers 33 0.01 33 0.04 67 0.05
Cleveland Browns 41 0.01 25 0.06 66 0.07
Denver Broncos 43 0.02 20 0.05 63 0.07
St. Louis Rams 55 0.01 8 0.02 63 0.03
Cincinnati Bengals 35 0.01 27 0.05 62 0.06
Arizona Cardinals 32 0.01 28 0.07 60 0.07
Seattle Seahawks 35 0.01 23 0.03 58 0.04
Washington Redskins 41 0.01 15 0.02 56 0.03
Pittsburgh Steelers 33 0.01 18 0.02 51 0.03
Miami Dolphins 26 0.01 19 0.02 45 0.03
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 18 0 25 0.03 43 0.04
Carolina Panthers 30 0.01 10 0.02 39 0.03

Week 8 Player Return Projections

PlayerTeamPositionKR yardsKR TDsPR yardsPR TDsTotal Ret YardsTotal TDs
Josh Cribbs New York Jets WR 68 0.02 18 0.02 86 0.04
Darren Sproles New Orleans Saints RB 53 0.01 29 0.04 82 0.05
Dwayne Harris Dallas Cowboys WR 57 0.01 25 0.03 82 0.05
Jacoby Ford Oakland Raiders WR 76 0.02 5 0.01 81 0.03
Cordarrelle Patterson Minnesota Vikings WR 76 0.02 0 0.00 76 0.02
Micheal Spurlock Detroit Lions WR 36 0.01 30 0.04 66 0.05
Damaris Johnson Philadelphia Eagles WR 43 0.01 20 0.03 63 0.04
Kyle Williams San Francisco 49ers WR 30 0.01 30 0.04 60 0.05
Jerrel Jernigan New York Giants WR 58 0.01 2 0.00 60 0.02
Tavon Austin St. Louis Rams WR 49 0.01 8 0.02 57 0.03
Trindon Holliday Denver Broncos WR 39 0.02 16 0.04 56 0.06
Johnathan Franklin Green Bay Packers RB 52 0.01 2 0.00 54 0.02
Jacquizz Rodgers Atlanta Falcons RB 52 0.01 0 0.00 52 0.01
Josh Morgan Washington Redskins WR 37 0.01 13 0.02 51 0.03
Brandon Tate Cincinnati Bengals WR 31 0.01 17 0.02 48 0.03
Marquise Goodwin Buffalo Bills WR 43 0.01 0 0.00 43 0.01
Marcus Thigpen Miami Dolphins RB 23 0.01 17 0.02 41 0.03
Eric Page Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR 16 0.00 22 0.03 39 0.03
LeGarrette Blount New England Patriots RB 37 0.01 0 0.00 37 0.01
Quintin Demps Kansas City Chiefs DB 34 0.01 3 0.00 37 0.01
Ted Ginn Jr Carolina Panthers WR 27 0.01 9 0.02 36 0.03
Jordan Todman Jacksonville Jaguars RB 35 0.01 0 0.00 35 0.01
Julian Edelman New England Patriots WR 5 0.00 29 0.04 34 0.04
Dexter McCluster Kansas City Chiefs WR 2 0.00 28 0.07 30 0.07
Felix Jones Pittsburgh Steelers RB 29 0.01 0 0.00 29 0.01
Travis Benjamin Cleveland Browns WR 8 0.00 21 0.05 29 0.05
Javier Arenas Arizona Cardinals DB 29 0.01 0 0.00 29 0.01
Fozzy Whittaker Cleveland Browns RB 29 0.01 0 0.00 29 0.01
Jermaine Kearse Seattle Seahawks WR 28 0.01 0 0.00 28 0.01
Micah Hyde Green Bay Packers CB 6 0.00 21 0.03 27 0.03
Leodis McKelvin Buffalo Bills DB 0 0.00 26 0.06 26 0.06
Patrick Peterson Arizona Cardinals DB 0 0.00 25 0.06 25 0.06
Golden Tate Seattle Seahawks WR 2 0.00 21 0.03 23 0.03
Antonio Brown Pittsburgh Steelers WR 3 0.00 18 0.02 22 0.02
Stephen Burton Jacksonville Jaguars WR 21 0.01 0 0.00 21 0.01
Phillip Adams Oakland Raiders DB 0 0.00 20 0.02 20 0.02
Ace Sanders Jacksonville Jaguars WR 0 0.00 20 0.02 20 0.02
Robert Alford Atlanta Falcons DB 6 0.00 12 0.01 18 0.02
Marcus Sherels Minnesota Vikings DB 8 0.00 10 0.01 18 0.01
Michael Cox New York Giants RB 15 0.00 0 0.00 15 0.00
Rueben Randle New York Giants WR 0 0.00 14 0.02 14 0.02
Denard Robinson Jacksonville Jaguars RB 14 0.00 0 0.00 14 0.00
Adam Jones Cincinnati Bengals DB 3 0.00 10 0.03 14 0.03
Devin McCourty New England Patriots DB 11 0.00 0 0.00 11 0.00
Travaris Cadet New Orleans Saints RB 6 0.00 3 0.00 9 0.01
Kyle Wilson New York Jets DB 7 0.00 0 0.00 7 0.00
Austin Pettis St. Louis Rams WR 5 0.00 1 0.00 6 0.00
Lance Dunbar Dallas Cowboys RB 5 0.00 0 0.00 5 0.00
Jeremy Lane Seattle Seahawks DB 5 0.00 0 0.00 5 0.00
William Blackmon Jacksonville Jaguars DB 0 0.00 5 0.01 5 0.01
Marcus Easley Buffalo Bills WR 5 0.00 0 0.00 5 0.00
Brandon Boykin Philadelphia Eagles DB 5 0.00 0 0.00 5 0.00
Patrick Edwards Detroit Lions WR 2 0.00 3 0.00 5 0.00
Davone Bess Cleveland Browns WR 0 0.00 4 0.01 4 0.01
Mike Jenkins Oakland Raiders DB 4 0.00 0 0.00 4 0.00
Taiwan Jones Oakland Raiders RB 4 0.00 0 0.00 4 0.00
Greg Little Cleveland Browns WR 4 0.00 0 0.00 4 0.00
Bobby Rainey Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR 2 0.00 2 0.00 4 0.00
Mike Gillislee Miami Dolphins RB 2 0.00 2 0.00 4 0.00
Wes Welker Denver Broncos WR 0 0.00 4 0.01 4 0.01
Niles Paul Washington Redskins TE 4 0.00 0 0.00 4 0.00
Dominique Franks Atlanta Falcons DB 3 0.00 1 0.00 4 0.00
Omar Bolden Denver Broncos DB 3 0.00 0 0.00 3 0.00
Alfonso Smith Arizona Cardinals RB 3 0.00 0 0.00 3 0.00
LaMichael James San Francisco 49ers RB 0 0.00 3 0.00 3 0.00
Perrish Cox San Francisco 49ers DB 3 0.00 0 0.00 3 0.00
Tyrann Mathieu Arizona Cardinals DB 0 0.00 3 0.00 3 0.00
Walter Thurmond Seattle Seahawks DB 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
DeSean Jackson Philadelphia Eagles WR 0 0.00 2 0.01 2 0.01
Cole Beasley Dallas Cowboys WR 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
Joique Bell Detroit Lions RB 2 0.00 0 0.00 2 0.00
Kenjon Barner Carolina Panthers RB 1 0.00 0 0.00 2 0.00
Knile Davis Kansas City Chiefs RB 2 0.00 0 0.00 2 0.00
Jeremy Kerley New York Jets WR 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
Jim Leonhard Buffalo Bills DB 0 0.00 2 0.00 2 0.00
Santana Moss Washington Redskins WR 0 0.00 1 0.00 1 0.00
Armond Smith Carolina Panthers RB 1 0.00 0 0.00 1 0.00
Jarius Wright Minnesota Vikings WR 0 0.00 1 0.00 1 0.00
Harry Douglas Atlanta Falcons WR 0 0.00 1 0.00 1 0.00
Photos provided by Imagn Images

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