Individual returner projections for each week are included in your MyFBG projections and rankings automatically. My returner projections are included in the default projection set with David Dodds' offensive predictions. Choose David as the source, and then choose a scoring system in which you have included points for return yards.
The base return projections for a week can be seen on this page. You can also go to the content for the week and use the Returner Projections link to get there.
Conference Championship Outlook
Individual returner expectations for the Conference Championship round show a lot of parity for different reasons. Denver and New England have two of the strongest remaining kickers on kickoffs, plus will be playing in the thinner air at Denver's altitude that aids in touchbacks. Carolina and Arizona are projected to have more kickoffs returned in their game, but both teams have a little uncertainty on which individual player will handle their kick returns this week. The result is the returners are bunched together more closely than we might normally expect. If Panthers kick returner Fozzy Whittaker is able to make it through practice healthy this week, he may be the best choice as Arizona has the worst touchback percentage amongst the remaining field.
Job Changes and Injuries of Note
Omar Bolden's knee injury suffered in Denver's Divisional Round game and has landed him on injured reserve. Jordan Norwood took over punts after Bolden's injury. While Norwood is a likely candidate to see the bulk of returns this week, Emmanuel Sanders is always an option if the team is looking for a spark from the return game.
Fozzy Whittaker is expected to begin practicing this week. Joe Webb III had been handling kickoffs for the Panthers, but faring no better than Whittaker. Whittaker stands a good chance to take the return job back over, but the position has some uncertainty going into the game.
Arizona also has uncertainty at kick returner as Kerwynn Williams was left inactive. Brittan Golden and J.J. Nelson both had opportunities at kickoff returns, and likely will again this week.
Conference Championship Team Return Projections
| Receiving Team | KR Yards | KR TDs | PR Yards | PR TDs | Total Yards | Total TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | 59 | 0.02 | 22 | 0.02 | 81 | 0.04 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 44 | 0.02 | 25 | 0.04 | 69 | 0.06 |
| Denver Broncos | 32 | 0.01 | 29 | 0.04 | 61 | 0.05 |
| New England Patriots | 29 | 0.01 | 21 | 0.04 | 50 | 0.05 |
Conference Championship Player Return Projections
| Player | Team | Position | KR Yards | KR TDs | PR Yards | PR TDs | Total Yards | Total TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fozzy Whittaker | Carolina Panthers | RB | 35 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0.01 |
| Jordan Norwood | Denver Broncos | WR | 5 | 0 | 25 | 0.03 | 30 | 0.03 |
| Keshawn Martin | New England Patriots | WR | 24 | 0.01 | 4 | 0.01 | 28 | 0.02 |
| Andre Caldwell | Denver Broncos | WR | 27 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0.01 |
| J.J. Nelson | Arizona Cardinals | WR | 22 | 0.01 | 4 | 0.01 | 26 | 0.02 |
| Joe Webb III | Carolina Panthers | WR | 21 | 0.01 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 0.01 |
| Brittan Golden | Arizona Cardinals | WR | 22 | 0.01 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0.01 |
| Ted Ginn Jr | Carolina Panthers | WR | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0.02 | 22 | 0.02 |
| Patrick Peterson | Arizona Cardinals | DB | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0.03 | 20 | 0.03 |
| Danny Amendola | New England Patriots | WR | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0.02 | 16 | 0.02 |
| Julian Edelman | New England Patriots | WR | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.01 | 5 | 0.01 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | Denver Broncos | WR | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.01 | 4 | 0.01 |
| Patrick Chung | New England Patriots | DB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| David Johnson | Arizona Cardinals | RB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |