11-05-2020, 03:29 PM
(11-05-2020, 02:54 PM)Hoofhearted Wrote: Erickson was 14th in punt return last year and currently sits 8th this year. Not earth shattering, but he's average to above average punt returner. He's raised his average from 6.2 to 9.3 yards per return from last year, so he's shown some progress with that.
I think when you look up punt return stats you have to be careful in how you view them. Some sites only list a smaller number due to qualifiers. Some sites sort by total yards and some sort by average.
On Pro Football Reference, they default to a qualifyer of a minimum of 20 returns, and only 15 players met that mark in 2019. Alex Erickson ranked 12th out of 15th in YPR.
When not using a qualifier, and accounting for all punt returners, he ranks 47th.
The number you're referring to, I believe, is total return yards, where he does rank 14th. The problem with that is that he was actually 8th in attempts.
Fwiw, here are his yearly ranks with PFR's qualifiers:
Alex Erickson
2016 - 18th out of 21
2017 - 20th out of 25
2018 - 9th out of 19
2019 - 12th out of 15
2020 - 6th out of 16
IMHO, he's just not good enough to take up on spot on PR skills alone. We've 3 bottom of the barrel years, with one average year, and one slightly above average year, that has yet to be completed.
He's had ZERO TD's in 5 years of handing PR duties. He's never even hit a 40 yard return. His long's per season tell me he has very limited big play ability: 24, 29, 38, 17, and 22
A lot of people may point to reliabilty, and that even though he's not dynamic, he holds on to the ball. Except, he put the ball on the ground 4 times last year. I can't find the exact stat for PR alone, but i believe he was near the top in PR fumbles in 2019.
To each their own, I just think the guy is a complete waste of a spot. And that fact we're paying him 2.5 million dollars only adds insult to injury.
