Detroit Lions fans grew accustomed to having strong special teams units over the years. Kickers such as Jason Hansen and Matt Prater all have a place in our hearts with their game winning field goals.
Punter Sam Martin and future greats like Jack Fox will always be remembered by us as well. But the ones that we won’t soon forget at punt and kick returns are ones that we absolutely love to talk about.
Jamal Agnew and Josh Ross were constant sources of talk regarding how good they were and what they brought to the team. However we don’t see teams target punt/kick returners often in the modern NFL.
What I’ve noticed about many teams is that they’ll often overlook returners in college that showed they could be great in the NFL but aren’t given a chance because they lack some of the talent at the skill positions beyond special teams. But as New England fans can attest to with Marcus Jones’ recent walk off punt return TD, special teamers can be game breakers in their own right.
When Agnew was a rookie, many NFL and NCAA fans had no idea who this guy was and where he came from, but what they did know was he was quickly and clearly one of the best returners in the NFL.
The excitement in Detroit to finally say they had someone who was amongst the best in the NFL at something the Lions faithful had been missing since Calvin Johnson’s retirement. Fans felt like there was a real reason to engage with the team when those types of players were there. A good young returner isn’t that hard to find, especially when teams keep options open. And that’s exactly what the Lions need to do.
Detroit has one of the best offenses in the NFL. However the Lions current punt returner is backup receiver Kalif Raymond and the kick returner is fourth string running back Justin Jackson. Both players barely receive playing time at their primary positions, but they also aren’t setting the world ablaze on special teams either.
To his credit, Raymond had a solid game against the Jets, and his punt return TD largely skewed the numbers for Detroit’s special teams unit as a whole on the season. But overall, there’s still room for improvement in this regard.
Whether it’s a late round pick, or searching the UDFA list, the Lions absolutely need to bring that spark back to Detroit. Giving this offense good field position to start with could be the next level this team needs to unlock on a consistent basis.
-Robert Martin
Twitter: @Defense_Rob
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.