Green Bay Packers’ historic struggles on special teams have been well documented, and their ineptitude was most certainly a leading cause of the team’s most recent early playoff exit. The Packers will need to send someone out to return kicks this upcoming season, but who that might be remains to be seen.
Newly hired special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia is tasked with addressing a question that has been lingering for quite some time. Green Bay has a few options on the roster to return kicks, including Amari Rodgers, Kylin Hill, Patrick Taylor, and, of course, Randall Cobb.
When Rodgers was drafted in the third round out of Clemson a season ago, the Packers thought that they not only had an additional weapon to work into the offense but a bonafide home-run threat in the return game. If targets might be hard to come by in the offense, the thought was that Rodgers would be able to make his bones on special teams. But very little about his rookie season lived up to that hype. Rodgers’ averages of 8.3 yards per punt return and 18.1 yards per kick return were underwhelming, and he fumbled the ball twice. A sophomore bounce-back season is certainly in play, but there’s no guarantee that Bisaccia will have a long leash with Rodgers.
Another second-year player, Kylin Hill, is intriguing as a return man, having shown some flashes in his rookie campaign. But an ill-advised kick return from out of the end zone in Arizona ended his season prematurely, as he suffered an ACL tear in Week 8. With roadblocks on offense in Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon, Hill might need to prove his ability on special teams to separate himself from others who will be competing for the same spot. His 41-yard kick return in Week 2 was his personal highlight of a season cut short. But as Green Bay fans are well aware, there are no guarantees when it comes to returning from ACL injuries. Hill’s ceiling as a returner might be the highest of players currently on the roster, but his health will be a question leading up to the season.
Randall Cobb will be suiting up for the Packers once again in 2022. If the team is looking for someone with experience to wave a hand in the air and fair catch any punt, Cobb would be your man. He had a muffed punt against the Los Angeles Rams in the regular season that helped make that Week 12 contest closer than it should have been, but more often than not, Cobb would be a reliable option just to catch the ball.
His role in the offense might be too big to risk it all on special teams, but if his experience is needed, it may be called upon. After all, in one of the more depressing Green Bay stats, his kick return against the New Orleans Saints in his first-ever game is still the team’s most recent kick-return touchdown. It happened over a decade ago.
Green Bay currently has 11 picks in the upcoming draft. Brian Gutekunst isn’t necessarily going to come away from draft weekend with 11 new players, as he may package picks together to try to move up the board. But there has to be at least a thought of using one of those slots on a special teams-focused player.
It could be a huge win for the Packers if Gutekunst could come away with Marcus Jones out of Houston in the third round. He was named first-team All America and was awarded the Paul Hornung Award, given to the nation’s most versatile player. Previous recipients include the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, and DeVonta Smith.
Jones battled a shoulder injury and didn’t run the 40-yard dash at the combine, but reports indicate that his 40 time likely would have been sub-4.4. He could also give depth as a cornerback as well, making his position on the roster not redundant to what Amari Rodgers or Kylin Hill might bring. If the Packers can address some real needs at wideout and tackle with their first few picks, Gutekunst might be inclined to look at a guy like Jones with the latter of the team’s two second-round picks.
This past week, Tennessee’s Velus Jones came in for a pre-draft workout, indicating the Packers are high on him. Jones had a lengthy college career, spending four years at USC followed by two with the Volunteers, having redshirted his freshman season with the Trojans and taking advantage of another COVID year with Tennessee.
A downside of that journey is that Jones will be 25 years old by the time his rookie season begins, meaning that his stock could fall during the draft, but he’s certainly shown an NFL-level of explosiveness. He impressed at the Senior Bowl and then ran a 4.31-second 40-yard dash. That type of speed wouldn’t be used solely in the return game, as the team has Marquez Valdes-Scantling‘s burner ability to replace in addition to Davante Adams.
The Packers currently have only one pick between No. 140 and 228, a fifth-round pick at 171. Green Bay could potentially select Jones there or move around in that range to scoop him up.
There are options for what Gutekunst, Bisaccia, and the Packers may elect to do in the return game, and they may mix and match those options as the season progresses. Whether Amari Rodgers can make a jump in his second season, how Kylin Hill responds to his injury, and what game-breakers Green Bay can pick in the draft are all questions that remain to be seen. What isn’t a question is that the special teams unit needs addressing, as another historically bad season could derail another Super Bowl dream.
