Jakeem Grant Should Boost Browns Punt Return, Kick Return an Ongoing Priefer Problem
In signing Jakeem Grant, the Cleveland Browns are banking on going from one of the worst punt returning teams in the NFL to one of the best. Unfortunately, they are also expecting him to provide a jolt to their kick returning game, an area where the Browns should rethink their strategy.
The last time the Browns scored a punt return touchdown was in November of the 2015 season when Travis Benjamin broke a 78-yard return against the Tennessee Titans, a game the Browns won 28-14. Johnny Manziel was the starting quarterback for the Browns in that contest.
The Browns averaged 7.2 yards per punt return this past season, putting them in the bottom five in the league. 7.2 is also a significant improvement from 2020 where that number was a pitiful 4.8 due in large part to a torn ACL suffered by Jojo Natson.
Grant has a career return average of 10.3. Anything over ten is great as the goal is to generate a free first down on each return. He also has four career punt return touchdowns and two of those have come in the past two seasons.
Grant played four games with the Miami Dolphins in 2021 before he was traded to the Chicago Bears. In 11 games for the Bears, Grant returned 18 punts. 17 of those averaged 9 yards per return and the 18th was a 97-yard touchdown against the Green Bay Packers.
That helped propel the Bears to be the best in the NFL when it came to opponent net punting at 37.2. For the Browns, who will likely have Jacoby Brissett starting a number of games this year, being anywhere near that number could reduce the burden on him in producing points. With Deshaun Watson at the helm, it should increase the stress on the opposing defense.
It may be difficult enough to stop an offense that features Watson, Nick Chubb, Amari Cooper, David Njoku, Kareem along with a talented offensive line. It's that much more challenging when they are consistently starting drives near midfield.
Grant is also likely to get some opportunities in the offense through manufactured touches in an attempt to creative explosive plays. All of that could be great for the Browns.
Less exciting is the potential Grant brings on kick return. Grant is a good kick returner, averaging 24.5 yards per return with a pair of touchdowns in his career. He's not the issue.
The problem has been the thought process the Browns have employed when it comes to returning kickoffs. Mike Priefer, the special teams coach, is an advocate for being aggressive on kick returns even when the opportunity to simply take a touchback is available, getting the ball at the 25-yard line.
The Browns returned 40 kickoffs in 2021, fifth most in the league. Their longest return? 35 yards. Their average starting field position? 25.1. 40 kickoff return attempts were worth one tenth of one yard.
That level of ineptitude should have Priefer and the Browns reevaluate their philosophy on kick return, but the signing of Grant is likely to result in doubling down to justify the investment.
Kickoff is the most dangerous play in football by a significant margin. That's why every attempt at an alternative or developmental league is tweaking the rules to try to lower that risk, completely altering that aspect of the game. The NFL has simply tried to incentivize not returning kickoffs as often. That incentive is apparently not high enough for Priefer as that one tenth of one yard was just too good to pass up regardless of player safety concerns this past season. Rookie Anthony Schwartz missed five games due to a concussion suffered on a kick return as an example.
There are still gong to be times to return kickoffs and they should maximize those attempts, but when the ball is kicked 7 yards deep in the end zone, the odds are far higher that the return will get called back due a penalty or someone will get hurt than anything good happening.
The Browns should be focused on emphasizing quality opportunities over quantity to make the most of Grant's talent, taking touchbacks and the free yardage a far higher percentage of the time.
