2022 Fantasy Football Draft Strategies: Evaluating NFL Kick Returners In Fantasy Football
One of the beautiful aspects of fantasy football is that you can make YOUR league unique to you. You can do PPR or standard. You can do superflex, tight end premium, IDP. Whatever your little heart desires. Some leagues even have points for kick and punt return yards. Though I’ve yet to find a league that allows points for this yet.
One of my leagues, an industry league called Draft With Giants, actually has DOUBLE points for kick and punt return yards. Yes, it’s a point for every 10 yards rushing/receiving while it’s two points for every 10 return yards. In that league guys who returned both last year, like Jakeem Grant, were better than a lot of the guys in the WR2 or RB2 range. Unfortunately, Jakeem Grant will miss this season with an Achilles injury but there are a lot of other options out there. Let’s take a look at some of the best options for formats like that as well as the best options for formats where return yards are just a small bonus.
Here is a chart giving our best estimate of who will return kicks, who will return punts, and the most interesting third name that could be in the mix.
Dual Duties
In leagues where return yards are highly valuable, players that return both kicks and punts can be fairly valuable even if they don’t contribute much on offense. Here are some of those players. There are a LOT more kick return yards to be had than punt return yards so, if you need to lean into one role for return yards, it should be kick returners. I’ll attempt to rank these guys as best I can on who I think gets the most return yards this year though, naturally, it’s not an exact science.
Ray Ray McCloud - McCloud is one of the premier return guys in the league which is why San Francisco scooped him up on a two year deal with almost $3 million guaranteed (a decent chunk for a return guy). He led the league in combined return yards last year and is my best bet to repeat.
Andre Roberts - Andre Roberts does not factor in much on offense but he is one of the best return men in this league. He had 1,109 combined yards last year with over 1,000 on kicks alone.
Devin Duvernay - He did both last year and did a valiant job. With Marquise Brown being traded, he could also factor in on offense a bit. He made the Pro Bowl last year as a return man.
Braxton Berrios - The Jets made it a priority to keep Berrios, especially with his skill on special teams. He was one of only five guys to crack 1,000 yards combined and he should play a little slot as well.
DeAndre Carter - Carter also cracked 1,000 yards for Washington last year - the Chargers poached him to install him on both units.
Montrell Washington - Washington has made a lot of noise this offseason in camp for the Broncos and seems to have both gigs locked up for Denver.
Jamaal Agnew - He was injured last year but the Jaguars brought him over from the Lions specifically for his dual special teams prowess. Should be in the mix to lead the league.
Deonte Harty - If you don’t recognize this name, it’s because he was formerly Deonte Harris but changed his name in January to honor his stepfather. Another great return man.
Demetric Felton - Felton needs to be mentioned with this top group for a very specific reason - he and Tony Pollard (who we will get to in the next section) are the only RB-eligible players so to return both. You might have a limited number of WR spots which gives him additional value.
Other Names Expected to Handle Both Duties:
Most Fantasy Relevant
Most leagues don’t have massive bonuses for return yards. It’s more like a cherry on top. For that reason, you probably want to focus on guys that have an offensive role AND return kicks/punts. Here are the best guys that meet that criteria. Again, keep in mind that returning kicks is more consistent than returning punts.
Dolphins Players - Mike McDaniel has publicly stated that the best players will play, even on special teams. And he specifically named guys like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Tyreek Hill and Raheem Mostert recorded two of the top three fastest on field speeds this offseason, both over 21 miles per hour, so all three of Hill, Waddle, and Mostert bet a boost in a format like this.
Cordarelle Patterson - Patterson surprisingly emerged as the starting running back for the Falcons last year but he says he wants to return kicks this year because he has some records in sight that he wants to break. He needs one more kick return TD to break that record. And he is also in shouting distance of the record for “highest average return yards per kick”. He’s sitting at 29.4 yards and the all time leader is Gale Sayers at 30.6.
Isaiah McKenzie - McKenzie has been pretty good on special teams but now he’s in the mix to also be the starting slot receiver for the Bills. He’s expected to continue to return kicks which can boost the value a bit.
Kenneth Gainwell - Gainwell carved himself out a role on offense last year on pass catching downs and, after the Eagles traded away Jalen Reagor, his name has been thrown out there as the primary kick returner.
Tony Pollard - Tony Pollard has been a solid kick returner, even taking one back for a touchdown last year. But a name has emerged in camp as a threat to both - KaVontae Turpin. He actually returned both a kick and punt for touchdowns in a preseason game this offseason. And Cowboys beat reporter Calvin Watkins actually came on our morning show on Bettor Sports Network the other day, talking about how much they like KaVontae Turpin. So Pollard might not be a lock for those duties this year.
Nyheim Hines - Like Pollard, Hines is always sneaky in these formats. Folks might not realize that he also got more targets last year than Jonathan Taylor. So he has a role.
Antonio Gibson - He was slated to return kicks but the shooting incident with Brian Robinson may have changed things. The most recent report was that Dax Milne will likely now return both with Gibson back in line to start at running back. Though it was also said he is still in the mix.
Isiah Pacheco - Pacheco is already a popular sleeper pick as someone that could carve out a pass-catching role for the Chiefs. He’s also set to potentially return kicks making him even more interesting. Mecole Hardman could also have a bigger role with Tyreek Hill gone and he could return punts.
Kene Nwangwu - He’s been quite impressive on special teams, running two kicks back for touchdowns last season. This year there are rumors of an Alexander Mattison trade that could move him up the depth chart.
Rondale Moore - Right now Greg Dortch is looking like the return guy but Moore should get a couple of shots to return punts throughout the years. He’s just too explosive not to.
Hunter Renfrow - Renfrow is the starting slot receiver and he’s expected to return punts. Nice little value boost.
Ty Montgomery - Montgomery is dealing with an injury so might not be ready to go but he was the favorite both to play the James White role and to return kicks for New England.
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