Who do you see returning kicks?

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(05-10-2021, 09:15 AM)KillerGoose Wrote: I just went back to 16 because that encompassed his entire career here. While I agree that he did improve his fumbling issue, I wouldn’t say it is fairly reasonable. If Mixon had seven fumbles on his first 203 touches this year, we wouldn’t be happy.

Also, to narrow it down, 12 of those 16 fumbles were on punt returns. That’s 12 fumbles on 229 touches on punt return duty, fair catches included. Five of those fumbles came over the last three years, on 124 touches. He went from fumbling every 15 touches in 2016/2017 to every 24 touches until his release.

Does all of this mean he was awful? No. I do think it was his biggest problem, though.

Mixon doesn't have to catch 50 yard end-over-end kicks (sometimes in the rain) while waiting for guys with full heads of steam running straight for him. Comparing a returner to a RB in fumbles is like trying to compare a QB and a RB in fumbles. It's pointless because they have completely different jobs and experiences.

Top 6 (5 and 6 are tied so I went 6 rather than 5) in punt returns in 2020, fumbles in the last 3 years total:
Nyheim Hines, 2
Ray-Ray McCloud, 7
Jakeem Grant, 4
Andre Roberts, 7
Nsimba Webster, 0 (2 years)
Mecole Hardman, 4 (2 years)

So no, 5 fumbles over 3 years aren't particularly an issue for a punt returner. (I didn't narrow down if they were all punt fumbles, but at least half of those guys aren't really offensive players so it should be close). Keep in mind, muffing a punt, picking it back up, and returning it is still a fumble, even on a fair catch.