Auburn's kick return game could play a big role for the Tigers in 2022

Auburn's offense needed a shot in the arm over the final five games of the season.

The Tigers really struggled to put points on the board, specifically in the second halves of games. While it is important to focus, on, well, your offense, and the personnel you've got at the skill positions, could the team potentially look to the kick return game to give life to drives?

Stat of the day

In 2021, Auburn averaged 23.2 yards per kick return, which was 32nd nationally.

Nehemiah Pritchett led the way with 307 yards on 10 returns (30.7 yards per return). He had Auburn's highest return grade on Pro Football Focus (70.4).

What it means

Maximizing efficiency is going to be very important for Auburn's offense this season.

Cutting down on short drives, picking up first downs, getting into the end zone when the opportunity presents itself, completing passes at a higher rate... all of these things will help with the Tigers' efficiency. Having a better starting field position would be beneficial for a couple of reasons.

The first being obvious- the closer your starting point is to the endzone, the more likely you are to score. The second isn't something that is discussed enough- momentum. It's something that Auburn lacked at times last season, especially for the final five games of the year. Being able to break a dry spell on offense by getting a big play from the return team could prove to be the turning point that wasn't often there in 2021.

Focusing on Nehemiah Pritchett (who had some impressive return stats) and putting an emphasis on the return game this season might be really beneficial for Auburn.