When deciding between a couple of close fantasy defenses, I like to go with the one where I think there's a chance of a guy taking a punt or kickoff back for a touchdown. There aren't many teams that qualify nowadays. But some are better than others.
Tables below show the best punt and kick returners so far this season. Included are all players with multiple returns, though I removed guys who are out for the year (Dwayne Harris, Tyler Ervin) or have been removed from those duties and probably won't handle them again this year (Jerick McKinnon had been returning kicks for Minnesota, but now he's their best running back). Some teams are rotating through multiple players -- Saints have used four so far -- and it's not certain who they'll use going forward. Antonio Brown occasionally but not always returns punts for Pittsburgh. I sorted punt returns by number of 20-plus yard returns, kick returners by average.
| NFL PUNT RETURNERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | 20+ |
| Jamal Agnew, Det. | 11 | 261 | 23.7 | 88T | 2 | 4 |
| Isaiah McKenzie, Den. | 14 | 139 | 9.9 | 31 | 0 | 3 |
| Danny Amendola, N.E. | 9 | 132 | 14.7 | 40 | 0 | 3 |
| Adoree' Jackson, Tenn. | 11 | 128 | 11.6 | 46 | 0 | 2 |
| Alex Erickson, Cin. | 20 | 139 | 7 | 26 | 0 | 2 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 13 | 152 | 11.7 | 82 | 1 | 2 |
| Michael Campanaro, Balt. | 14 | 193 | 13.8 | 77T | 1 | 1 |
| Brandon Tate, Buff. | 8 | 96 | 12 | 40 | 0 | 1 |
| Andre Roberts, Atl. | 7 | 73 | 10.4 | 27 | 0 | 1 |
| Trevor Davis, G.B. | 9 | 83 | 9.2 | 33 | 0 | 1 |
| Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 14 | 124 | 8.9 | 21 | 0 | 1 |
| Ryan Switzer, Dall. | 8 | 61 | 7.6 | 21 | 0 | 1 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 15 | 113 | 7.5 | 25 | 0 | 1 |
| Jabrill Peppers, Clev. | 17 | 109 | 6.4 | 25 | 0 | 1 |
| Marcus Sherels, Minn. | 11 | 75 | 6.8 | 21 | 0 | 1 |
| Trent Taylor, S.F. | 11 | 138 | 12.5 | 39 | 0 | 1 |
| Kenjon Barner, Phil. | 7 | 125 | 17.9 | 76 | 0 | 1 |
| Travis Benjamin, LAC | 12 | 76 | 6.3 | 23 | 0 | 1 |
| Bernard Reedy, T.B. | 7 | 72 | 10.3 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Ted Ginn, N.O. | 8 | 60 | 7.5 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Eric Weems, Tenn. | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Jakeem Grant, Mia. | 9 | 61 | 6.8 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 8 | 49 | 6.1 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Thompson, Hou. | 3 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Pharoh Cooper, LAR | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Jalen Richard, Oak. | 12 | 55 | 4.6 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Tavon Austin, LAR | 12 | 53 | 4.4 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| Quan Bray, Ind. | 12 | 46 | 3.8 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| Kerwynn Williams, Ariz. | 7 | 24 | 3.4 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| De'Anthony Thomas, K.C. | 4 | 11 | 2.8 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Marqise Lee, Jac. | 5 | 13 | 2.6 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremy Kerley, NYJ | 9 | 52 | 5.8 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamison Crowder, Wash. | 9 | 45 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| NFL KICKOFF RETURNERS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| Bobby Rainey, Balt. | 5 | 191 | 38.2 | 96T | 1 |
| Brendan Langley, Den. | 2 | 75 | 37.5 | 47 | 0 |
| Pharoh Cooper, LAR | 15 | 476 | 31.7 | 103T | 1 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson, Oak. | 10 | 297 | 29.7 | 49 | 0 |
| Cody Latimer, Den. | 5 | 142 | 28.4 | 36 | 0 |
| Trevor Davis, G.B. | 2 | 55 | 27.5 | 29 | 0 |
| Akeem Hunt, K.C. | 9 | 243 | 27 | 42 | 0 |
| Alex Erickson, Cin. | 7 | 184 | 26.3 | 41 | 0 |
| Chris Thompson, Hou. | 5 | 131 | 26.2 | 42 | 0 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 6 | 153 | 25.5 | 43 | 0 |
| Taiwan Jones, Buff. | 2 | 50 | 25 | 27 | 0 |
| Quan Bray, Ind. | 13 | 319 | 24.5 | 60 | 0 |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 5 | 120 | 24 | 34 | 0 |
| Corey Grant, Jac. | 4 | 94 | 23.5 | 28 | 0 |
| Ryan Switzer, Dall. | 7 | 163 | 23.3 | 28 | 0 |
| Wendell Smallwood, Phil. | 4 | 93 | 23.3 | 28 | 0 |
| Michael Campanaro, Balt. | 2 | 46 | 23 | 29 | 0 |
| Adoree' Jackson. Tenn. | 9 | 200 | 22.2 | 48 | 0 |
| Bernard Reedy, T.B. | 6 | 132 | 22 | 50 | 0 |
| De'Anthony Thomas, K.C. | 7 | 153 | 21.9 | 31 | 0 |
| Trey Edmunds, N.O. | 3 | 65 | 21.7 | 27 | 0 |
| Andre Roberts, Atl. | 10 | 215 | 21.5 | 61 | 0 |
| Benny Cunningham, Chi. | 4 | 86 | 21.5 | 25 | 0 |
| Curtis Samuel, Car. | 5 | 107 | 21.4 | 33 | 0 |
| Terrell Watson, Pitt. | 4 | 85 | 21.3 | 25 | 0 |
| Kenyan Drake, Mia. | 5 | 106 | 21.2 | 34 | 0 |
| Jabrill Peppers, Clev. | 7 | 148 | 21.1 | 29 | 0 |
| Jakeem Grant, Mia. | 5 | 104 | 20.8 | 25 | 0 |
| Kerwynn Williams, Ariz. | 11 | 223 | 20.3 | 28 | 0 |
| Tarik Cohen, Chi. | 4 | 81 | 20.3 | 37 | 0 |
| Brandon Tate, Buff. | 4 | 81 | 20.3 | 23 | 0 |
| Victor Bolden, S.F. | 12 | 242 | 20.2 | 34 | 0 |
| ArDarius Stewart, NYJ | 5 | 99 | 19.8 | 32 | 0 |
| Desmond King, LAC | 7 | 138 | 19.7 | 25 | 0 |
| Bashaud Breeland, Wash. | 3 | 59 | 19.7 | 24 | 0 |
| Dion Lewis, N.E. | 8 | 156 | 19.5 | 26 | 0 |
| Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 3 | 58 | 19.3 | 21 | 0 |
| Jamal Agnew, Det. | 5 | 90 | 18 | 24 | 0 |
| Chris Thompson, Wash. | 2 | 34 | 17 | 18 | 0 |
Since we're only six games into the season, there are some numbers that won't hold up. Bobby Rainey, for example, has 5 kick returns for the Ravens, and one went for a 96-yard touchdown. Rainey is a personal favorite of mine over the years; some nice PPR value every once in a while. But he's bounced around the league to a lot of teams, and I don't think it's a given he's still on Baltimore's roster a month from now, let alone returning kicks.
The various players averaging 20ish yards on kickoff returns aren't doing their jobs. Better to cover those balls in the end zone, where they'll be placed at the 25-yard line. You'll see really good returners mess up those plays on occasion, like Adoree Jackson for the Titans fielding a ball at the goal line against the Colts on Monday, trying to make a couple of moves and ultimately pinning his offense at the 6-yard line. Oops.
Some of the really intriguing guys thus far include Detroit's Jamal Agnew, who has a pair of punt-return touchdowns; Jackson; Tyreek Hill, obviously; and then Pharoh Cooper, who's having a nice year for the Rams so far. Cordarrelle Patterson is a Pro Bowl returner (sweet one-handed grab in last night's Raiders-Kansas City game, too). Isaiah McKenzie in Denver. Those are some of the teams I'm giving an extra boost to when considering a defense to stream, and that generally show up higher in our TD-only rankings. I picked up Carolina in a best-ball league this week, thinking eventually Christian McCaffrey is going to break one.