The Deep Ball

[Wes Mantooth]

(11-05-2020, 03:04 PM)Whatever Wrote: Erickson is 7th in PR yards and 6th in average. It doesn't make a lot of sense to bench a top PR for a WR that might get 1-2 targets a game.

PR and KR are extremely different.  On a KR, you have plenty of space and time to field the ball, view the field, and set up your blocks.  On a PR, you've got guys in your face as you're trying to catch it and you also have to make a quick decision on a fair catch or not.  DB's like Wilson don't have the best hands typically, so having them return punts is dicey.

IMHO, he's not nearly good enough at returning punts to keep a spot solely to do that.  If you go through his 5 years he well below average in yards per return.  He he has no big play abillity.  And he was near the top of the league in fumbles last season.

If you're going to carve out a spot for a guy just to return punts then they should at least be above average at it.  I would think, out off 54 others guys, we could find someone to match these ranks:

18th out of 21
20th out of 25
9th out of 19
12th out of 15
6th out of 16

*NO TD's, limited big returns, multiple fumbles.