. Louisiana has two 2022 NFL Draft sleepers on our latest list one on defense and another on offense. He also saw a significant increase in targets over his rookie year, going from 26 to 47, and with Marquise Brown now in Arizona, theres opportunity for an increased role on offense. Entering year two, the Purdue standout could progress further into the offense while maintaining his special teams' role. First thing to notice is size. Meanwhile, his 41.8% inside the 20 percentage showcases the frequency with which hes able to pin opponents deep in their own half. . The Jacksonville Jaguars caught the Kansas City Chiefs by surprise during their Week 10 matchup, successfully executing an onside kick on the opening kickoff. Having seemingly found his role, hopefully Carter sticks with his new squad.7. I have no idea why they released him other than the fact that the Texans dont know their heads from theirwell, anyway. He checks in with strong measurements of 5'11 height and 220 pounds . Detroit lists Tom Kennedy as their kick returner, and thats a terrible choice. The Giants have been looking for a steady return option for years now. Eno Benjamin is a threat to do some kick returns, but this should be mostly Moore. Raiders officially relocated to Las Vegas, No. . These 2023 NFL Draft prospects put the foot into football. 154: Washington Philadelphia Jacksonville, "Giants trade 11th draft pick to Chicago Bears", "End Of An Era: Seahawks Trade Russell Wilson To Denver Broncos", "New York Jets trade Jamal Adams to Seattle Seahawks, get two first-round picks", "2022 NFL draft trade tracker: Every deal for a first-round pick", "Browns trade for Texans QB Deshaun Watson in deal that includes three first-round picks", "Sources: Fins deal No. Jones is a talented returner, but he's looking so good on defense, they might save him. These two are going to be in play, but if Milne is active on game day, I think it'll be him. Thats a pretty big statement. This ranked 249 out of 2613 WR from 1987 to 2022. While he has a smaller sample size than some other players due to his importance on offense, when he has returned punts, hes been GOOD. Board makes the final roster it will likely be for this capacity, so keep an eye on his roster status as the offseason progresses. I'm skeptical. Matt Corral may push Sam Howell as the potential top quarterback selected in the 2022 NFL draft. The top 10 NFL ball-carriers among Auburn alumni (as measured by rushing yards): 1. Still, his burst is still there (as shown by his 101-yard TD last season), so his punt return averages should regress to the mean in a positive way next year.3. 4. 44 with the Texans, pick up 68, 108, 124", "Chargers Acquire Six-Time Pro Bowl Outside Linebacker Khalil Mack", "2022 NFL draft: Bills trade back twice in second round with Buccaneers, Bengals", "Atlanta Falcons trade Julio Jones to Tennessee Titans", "Broncos trade star LB Von Miller to Rams for two 2022 NFL Draft picks", "Jaguars trade 2020 first-round CB C.J. Here is a list of return men in no specific order. This job could easily go to Darnay Holmes and/or Adoree Jackson and Toney only returned one punt all last season, but the potential impact he could have in this role make him worth noting and monitoring here. Taylors 45.8-yard average speaks to his consistent ability to boom the ball. Now that the Los Angeles Rams 2022 draft picks are official, Les Snead and Sean McVay will have five of eight picks in the . He didnt return many punts (only 15), but when he did, he was good at it, with 13.4 yards per return. who the Eagles drafted during the 2020 NFL draft with the team first round pick, put together solid numbers as a returner while having the speed and agility to . Look for an open competition between all four of the aforementioned names. Each of . If he makes the final cut, its likely for this capacity, whereas Schwartz is young and explosive enough to make the roster as a wide receiver, albeit low on the depth chart. Though he didnt qualify because he didnt play enough, Nwangwu averaged 32.2 yards per kick return on 18 attempts, taking 2 of them to the house. Things change fast on special teams. Also where Devin Duvernay, Ray-Ray McCloud, and more rank . [1], The league awarded the draft to Las Vegas on April 23, 2020 after the Raiders officially relocated to Las Vegas. Last year the Felger and Mazz Big Board . 145", "Roster Move: Bears trade Miller to Texans", "2022 NFL draft: Bills trade up in Round 5, select WR Khalil Shakir", "Texans trade up, pick Stanford DL Thomas Booker in fifth round", "Eagles trade two 2021 draft picks to Washington Football Team for one 2022 pick", "No. Expect him to continue in his role under special teams coach Bubba Ventrone, who has run the Colts unit for the past four years. Christian Watson: 2022 NFL Draft prospect's top FCS playoff highlights. See Full Boxscore. He was tied for fifth in kick returns and averaged an impressive 24.1 yards per return. [2], Draft activities were held around two main locations on the Las Vegas Strip; invited players walked a red carpet stage constructed on the man-made lake in front of the Bellagio and its fountains. Follow me @walterfootball for updates. And no one can match his 56-yard long, which hes accomplished in two consecutive seasons. He was one of the most consistent kickers in the 2021 season, hitting 95.2% of his field goals and stretching his extra-point conversions to 122 straight. Braxton Berrios, Jets Among players who DID qualify for the title, Berrios had the most yards per kick return with 30.4. . Connor Heyward is a surprisingly good athlete with great body control and hands, and is one of the most versatile football players in the . To view other positions, follow the links below. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Looking to Day 2, Day 3 and priority free agency, here are some other return options in the 2022 NFL Draft. As such, they made bringing in veteran return-man Roberts a priority to upgrade that spot. who was also one of the best kick returners in college football. Far from just a pure leg strength and no finesse prospect, Turks career inside the 20 average is up there with the best in the nation. Last year, there were no rule changes affecting return specialists. His biggest strength is his shiftiness, which explains why has been a bit better at returning punts than kicks throughout his career. 164: New England Las Vegas LA Rams, No. Boasting a booming leg, Baringer is on pace to break his own Michigan State single-season punt average, leading the nation with an average of 50.0 yards per punt. Do you have a blog? Copyright Intense Industries, LLC. Velus Jones Jr. is a WR prospect in the 2022 draft class. Brandon has been a regular contributor to 4for4 since 2006. With a well-timed touchdown, a kickoff or punt returner can provide key points that push your fantasy team over the top. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. NFL Draft: Four kick returners who could offer the Rams more than speed. Even some of the best return specialists will find themselves off the final roster when cuts happen. 38: Carolina NY Jets NY Giants Atlanta, No. Shakir looks like he's going to be one of the prime inactive options on gameday, so we may see him and Crowder both. 0:36. At first . 87th annual meeting of NFL franchises to select newly eligible players, San Francisco received an additional third-round selection and another 2023 third-round selection when Miami hired 49ers offensive coordinator. Height: 5-10. Watch for this to change, as it doesn't seem like the team is set yet. 4for4 Fantasy Football. Nigel Warrior: $0. The former first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft started 15 games throughout 2022 . While the premier free agents are off the market by now, there are still impact veterans out there. Coming off the back of a near-historic punting class, the 2023 NFL Draft has a lot to live up to. Jan 09, 2022 at 07:50 PM. Last season, after converting 92% of his field-goal attempts and all 56 extra-point attempts, Moody became the first player in school history to win the coveted Lou Groza Award. Baringer also displays NFL-requisite snap-to-punt and hang time. (@Seahawks) October 2, 2022. Deonte Harty changes his last name from Harris over the offseason, but what shouldnt change is his role as the primary return specialist in New Orleans. I'm guessing Moore will be in play as well, and Arizona is notorious for cutting their return specialist early on. The Chargers will arrive at the combine still armed with their original seven picks one in each round in the upcoming draft. [3][4], Caesars Forum was used to house infrastructure for the event. The plans were similar to those originally intended for the 2020 draft, although a plan for players to be transported onto the stage by boat was scrapped in favor of using walkways. He has 6 combined kick and punt returns, but he specializes in kicks, with a strong 25.3-yard career return average. Hes been productive in the past and is always a threat to catch a long touchdown to supplement his return yardage. . After a difficult 2021 season, the fifth-year kicker is in the running for the Lou Groza Award (which he won as a freshman) and finds himself on the Shrine Bowl 1000 Watchlist. Olszewski averaged 11.9 yards per punt return and 23.1 yards per kick return last season, a notable improvement over what Ray-Ray McCloud did for Pittsburgh last year (9.7/22.2) and he led the league in punt return yards in 2020. Osborn, Vikings; Antonio Gibson, Commanders; Darius Slayton, Giants. The ability is elite; the only question is whether the Dolphins will utilize it.9. He also holds the record for most field-goal completions in program history, nailing 87 of his 104 attempts for an 83.7% career percentage. Hes a ball-striking sensation, a special-teams wonder. This season is almost a mirror image of that campaign. The NFL went all-in on wide receivers in the 2020 to 2022 drafts, picking 17 of them in the first round during that time.. That's more than any other three-year run in league history. He hasnt returned too many punts, but his career average of 9.2 yards per return would have ranked 9th in the NFL last season. Thats why were talking about them here, so off we go! The draft also saw a record nine draft-day trades with first-round picks, which resulted in less than half of the first round selections being made by the teams that initially owned them. A one-year starter at Grossmont College before transferring to the Aztecs ahead of the 2021 season, he saw little action last fall but did score on a fake-punt attempt. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) While offense and defense (rightly) get most . Many teams have game-breaking playmakers on offense they cant help but use in the return game as well. With Jakeem Grant gone, the Bears have an opening for the primary punt returner. It's looking like Darius Slayton here instead. Oddly, Agnew only had 11 punt returns last season despite being the primary returner, which suggests that opposing punters shied away from him (smartly). [16] The resolution rewards teams whose minority candidates are hired away for one of those positions by awarding draft selections, which are at the end of the third round, after standard compensatory selections; if multiple teams qualify, they are awarded by draft order in the first round. Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame, Jr. . 2021 NFL Free Agency: Star rating is out of five. This looks like an open competition at PR, but Kene is likely the KR. Which cannon-legged clutch kickers are set to follow in the footsteps of recently drafted dynamos such as Cade York, Evan McPherson, and Tyler Bass? The Raiders brought in two veteran returners in Darius Phillips and Ameer Abdullah this offseason, and anything is possible with these two. Though hes never returned a punt or a kick for a TD, he tends to pick up more yardage on punts than whats blocked, rarely being taken down by the first tackler.8. Hill is starting the season on IR, but may take the KR job back when he returns. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Godwin Igwebuike, Lions Igwebuike returned kicks for the first time last season, and I liked what I saw. Hes also averaged 46.1 yards a punt with a 64-yard long while dropping almost half his punt attempts inside the 20. This was Wilson and Darius Philips last year, but. As it stands, the NFL is still having its most wild season in recent memory. Top Kick Returners in 2022 NFL Draft Here are some of the top return prospects in the . This was Hardman on punts and Pringle on kicks last year, but Pringle is gone. 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