Keisean Nixon Earns All-Pro But Packers’ Special Teams Typically Terrible
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Death, taxes and bad Green Bay Packers special teams are the three certainties in life.
In Rick Gosselin’s exhaustive special teams rankings, the Packers finished 32nd in 2021, 29th in 2020, 26th in 2019, 32nd in 2018, 29th in 2016 and 32nd in 2014.
The hiring of esteemed special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccias was supposed to change that. After a promising first season in which the Packers improved by 10 spots to a still-bad 22nd in 2022, they regressed in 2023 to 29th.
Gosselin’s 43rd-annual rankings are based on 22 kicking-game categories. Ranking first in one of those categories is worth one point, finishing second is worth two and so on.
The Packers really didn’t do many things well in 2023.
While Keisean Nixon was named the All-Pro kickoff returner for a second consecutive year on Friday, the Packers finished 23rd in starting field position after a kickoff. Their average starting point was the 25.0-yard line – same as a touchback.
Nixon almost won the award by default. To be considered among the league leaders, a player must have 22 kickoff returns. Nixon and the Jets’ Xavier Gipson were the only players to hit that mark. His 26.1-yard average had a long return of 51 yards. In 2022, he averaged 28.8 yards per return with a league-high five returns of 50-plus yards.
“Kudos to everybody,” Nixon said on Friday. “It always starts with the return unit but, for me, my accomplishment, it showed my work. Last year was the first time me every doing it. And (I made) All Pro. First full year. I thought I was going to get the same opps as last year and it was nowhere near it. But I still managed to have a good year, kind of. It was a blessing man. I’m happy.”
On the other hand, Green Bay ranked ninth in opponent starting field position after a kickoff with an average start of the 24.8. That’s a credit to the coverage unit as rookie kicker Anders Carlson had the lowest touchback rate in the NFL. Opponents started inside the 20 a dozen times – the only team with double-digits.
Replacing veteran Mason Crosby, Carlson was 27-of-33 on field goals and 34-of-39 on extra points. In total, he missed a league-worst 11 kicks.
“Like any season, there’s ups and downs,” he said on Friday. “You want to peak at all times, obviously, but peak at the right times, so that’s the focus is just getting back to what I do and making all the kicks.”
First-year punter Daniel Whelan finished 27th in net average. Other than a 76-yard punt-return touchdown allowed against the Saints, his other 56 punts allowed only 194 return yards. His 18 inside-the-20 punts vs. five touchbacks wasn’t good enough; last year, Pat O’Donnell had 24 inside-the-20s vs. one touchback.
Opponent punters ranked 22nd in net average. Nixon averaged 6.8 yards per return with a long of 34 and Jayden Reed averaged 8.5 yards per return with a long of 35.
The Packers’ special teams were found guilty of league-worst totals of 19 penalties for 178 yards. Sunday’s playoff opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, are next with 15 penalties and third with 152 yards.
Dallas finished 12th in Gosselin’s rankings. Kicker Brandon Aubrey made 36-of-38 field goals and 49-of-52 extra points. KaVontae Turpin averaged 29.2 yards per kickoff return. They ranked 21st in kickoff coverage and 24th in punt coverage but tied for No. 1 with three blocks.
Green Bay has not finished in the top 10 of Gosselin’s rankings since 2007.
