UPDATES
The Browns have said Fozzy Whittaker will continue as the primary kickoff returner this week, with Travis Benjamin also getting some touches.
Ace Sanders is healthy enough he will be resuming his role as punt returner for the Jaguars.
Week 7 Recap
Top Performers
While Trindon Holliday amassed 139 total return yards in Week 7, the punt return touchdowns scored by Devin Hester of Chicago and Marcus Sherels of Minnesota pushed them ahead of Holliday in most fantasy scoring systems. Hester had the second most yards with 125 despite Washington kicking away from Hester so much that he had only two of his team's seven kickoff returns. Quintin Demps also had an active day returning kicks in Kansas City, where he took 4 returns for 123 yards.
All Week 7 Returners
Here are the top returners sorted by total yards for Week 7:
Top THIRTY to Date
Here are the top thirty returners for the year based on total return yards.
Rank | Player | Total Ret Yds | TDs |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Devin Hester | 735 | 1 |
2 | Keshawn Martin | 614 | 0 |
3 | Trindon Holliday | 566 | 2 |
4 | Dwayne Harris | 563 | 1 |
5 | Darius Reynaud | 490 | 0 |
6 | Cordarrelle Patterson | 475 | 1 |
7 | Damaris Johnson | 464 | 0 |
8 | Brandon Tate | 392 | 0 |
9 | Marcus Thigpen | 355 | 0 |
10 | Dexter McCluster | 352 | 1 |
11 | Travis Benjamin | 332 | 1 |
12 | Micheal Spurlock | 303 | 0 |
13 | Benny Cunningham | 299 | 0 |
14 | Quintin Demps | 299 | 0 |
15 | Ted Ginn Jr | 297 | 0 |
16 | Eric Page | 287 | 0 |
17 | Darren Sproles | 285 | 0 |
18 | David Reed | 276 | 0 |
19 | Golden Tate | 270 | 0 |
20 | Jacoby Ford | 268 | 0 |
21 | Tandon Doss | 267 | 1 |
22 | Felix Jones | 259 | 0 |
23 | Fozzy Whittaker | 259 | 0 |
24 | Julian Edelman | 243 | 0 |
25 | LeGarrette Blount | 231 | 0 |
26 | David Wilson | 222 | 0 |
27 | Clyde Gates | 209 | 0 |
28 | Deonte Thompson | 201 | 0 |
29 | Chris Thompson | 196 | 0 |
30 | Jermaine Kearse | 187 | 0 |
Job Changes
The Colts have been using David Reed as the primary returner, but left him inactive in Week 7 despite being healthy. Cassius Vaughn handled most of the returns in Reed's place. Whether this signals a long term change, or was done to allow for an extra defensive back against the potent Broncos passing game bears close watching.
Fozzy Whittaker landed in Cleveland after having been cut by San Diego earlier in the season. The Browns immediately put Whittaker to work where he split return duties with Travis Benjamin. Greg Little is still listed atop the Browns depth chart with Whittaker second, though Little did not have a return in the game. The resulting situation is murky and any of the three could end up with returns in Week 8.
Tampa Bay claimed Bobby Rainey from waivers and likely will have him backup Eric Page. Page is handling all of the return duties, including the kickoffs that would normally go to the injured Jeff Demps.
As mentioned last week, the Jets signed Josh Cribbs to handle kickoff returns, though when they took the field on Sunday the team also used Cribbs on punt returns. The former elite returner managed only a single kickoff return for 17 yards, but had punt returns of 8, 15 and 21 yards. He also ran the wildcat on offense and participated on kick coverage.
Jacoby Jones continued to handle kickoff returns while Tandon Doss took care of the punt returns for the Ravens. Doss continues to play well and looks like he may hold on to the punt return job for the rest of the year.
INJURIES OF NOTE
In a week when many key offensive and defensive players suffered serious injuries, the returners seem to have made it through without adding any significant injuries.
Week 8 Team Return Projections
Receiving Team | KR yards | KR TDs | PR yards | PR TDs | Total Yards | Total TDs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oakland Raiders | 85 | 0.02 | 25 | 0.03 | 109 | 0.05 |
Minnesota Vikings | 84 | 0.02 | 11 | 0.01 | 95 | 0.03 |
Jacksonville Jaguars | 69 | 0.02 | 24 | 0.03 | 94 | 0.05 |
New York Jets | 75 | 0.02 | 20 | 0.02 | 94 | 0.04 |
New Orleans Saints | 59 | 0.01 | 33 | 0.04 | 92 | 0.06 |
Dallas Cowboys | 62 | 0.02 | 27 | 0.03 | 89 | 0.05 |
New York Giants | 73 | 0.02 | 16 | 0.02 | 88 | 0.04 |
New England Patriots | 54 | 0.01 | 29 | 0.04 | 82 | 0.05 |
Green Bay Packers | 57 | 0.01 | 23 | 0.03 | 81 | 0.04 |
Buffalo Bills | 48 | 0.01 | 27 | 0.07 | 75 | 0.08 |
Atlanta Falcons | 61 | 0.02 | 13 | 0.02 | 74 | 0.03 |
Detroit Lions | 40 | 0.01 | 32 | 0.04 | 72 | 0.05 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 47 | 0.01 | 23 | 0.03 | 70 | 0.04 |
Kansas City Chiefs | 38 | 0.01 | 31 | 0.07 | 69 | 0.08 |
San Francisco 49ers | 33 | 0.01 | 33 | 0.04 | 67 | 0.05 |
Cleveland Browns | 41 | 0.01 | 25 | 0.06 | 66 | 0.07 |
Denver Broncos | 43 | 0.02 | 20 | 0.05 | 63 | 0.07 |
St. Louis Rams | 55 | 0.01 | 8 | 0.02 | 63 | 0.03 |
Cincinnati Bengals | 35 | 0.01 | 27 | 0.05 | 62 | 0.06 |
Arizona Cardinals | 32 | 0.01 | 28 | 0.07 | 60 | 0.07 |
Seattle Seahawks | 35 | 0.01 | 23 | 0.03 | 58 | 0.04 |
Washington Redskins | 41 | 0.01 | 15 | 0.02 | 56 | 0.03 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 33 | 0.01 | 18 | 0.02 | 51 | 0.03 |
Miami Dolphins | 26 | 0.01 | 19 | 0.02 | 45 | 0.03 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 18 | 0 | 25 | 0.03 | 43 | 0.04 |
Carolina Panthers | 30 | 0.01 | 10 | 0.02 | 39 | 0.03 |
Week 8 Player Return Projections
Player | Team | Position | KR yards | KR TDs | PR yards | PR TDs | Total Ret Yards | Total TDs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Josh Cribbs | New York Jets | WR | 68 | 0.02 | 18 | 0.02 | 86 | 0.04 |
Darren Sproles | New Orleans Saints | RB | 53 | 0.01 | 29 | 0.04 | 82 | 0.05 |
Dwayne Harris | Dallas Cowboys | WR | 57 | 0.01 | 25 | 0.03 | 82 | 0.05 |
Jacoby Ford | Oakland Raiders | WR | 76 | 0.02 | 5 | 0.01 | 81 | 0.03 |
Cordarrelle Patterson | Minnesota Vikings | WR | 76 | 0.02 | 0 | 0.00 | 76 | 0.02 |
Micheal Spurlock | Detroit Lions | WR | 36 | 0.01 | 30 | 0.04 | 66 | 0.05 |
Damaris Johnson | Philadelphia Eagles | WR | 43 | 0.01 | 20 | 0.03 | 63 | 0.04 |
Kyle Williams | San Francisco 49ers | WR | 30 | 0.01 | 30 | 0.04 | 60 | 0.05 |
Jerrel Jernigan | New York Giants | WR | 58 | 0.01 | 2 | 0.00 | 60 | 0.02 |
Tavon Austin | St. Louis Rams | WR | 49 | 0.01 | 8 | 0.02 | 57 | 0.03 |
Trindon Holliday | Denver Broncos | WR | 39 | 0.02 | 16 | 0.04 | 56 | 0.06 |
Johnathan Franklin | Green Bay Packers | RB | 52 | 0.01 | 2 | 0.00 | 54 | 0.02 |
Jacquizz Rodgers | Atlanta Falcons | RB | 52 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 52 | 0.01 |
Josh Morgan | Washington Redskins | WR | 37 | 0.01 | 13 | 0.02 | 51 | 0.03 |
Brandon Tate | Cincinnati Bengals | WR | 31 | 0.01 | 17 | 0.02 | 48 | 0.03 |
Marquise Goodwin | Buffalo Bills | WR | 43 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 43 | 0.01 |
Marcus Thigpen | Miami Dolphins | RB | 23 | 0.01 | 17 | 0.02 | 41 | 0.03 |
Eric Page | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | WR | 16 | 0.00 | 22 | 0.03 | 39 | 0.03 |
LeGarrette Blount | New England Patriots | RB | 37 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 37 | 0.01 |
Quintin Demps | Kansas City Chiefs | DB | 34 | 0.01 | 3 | 0.00 | 37 | 0.01 |
Ted Ginn Jr | Carolina Panthers | WR | 27 | 0.01 | 9 | 0.02 | 36 | 0.03 |
Jordan Todman | Jacksonville Jaguars | RB | 35 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 35 | 0.01 |
Julian Edelman | New England Patriots | WR | 5 | 0.00 | 29 | 0.04 | 34 | 0.04 |
Dexter McCluster | Kansas City Chiefs | WR | 2 | 0.00 | 28 | 0.07 | 30 | 0.07 |
Felix Jones | Pittsburgh Steelers | RB | 29 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 29 | 0.01 |
Travis Benjamin | Cleveland Browns | WR | 8 | 0.00 | 21 | 0.05 | 29 | 0.05 |
Javier Arenas | Arizona Cardinals | DB | 29 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 29 | 0.01 |
Fozzy Whittaker | Cleveland Browns | RB | 29 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 29 | 0.01 |
Jermaine Kearse | Seattle Seahawks | WR | 28 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 28 | 0.01 |
Micah Hyde | Green Bay Packers | CB | 6 | 0.00 | 21 | 0.03 | 27 | 0.03 |
Leodis McKelvin | Buffalo Bills | DB | 0 | 0.00 | 26 | 0.06 | 26 | 0.06 |
Patrick Peterson | Arizona Cardinals | DB | 0 | 0.00 | 25 | 0.06 | 25 | 0.06 |
Golden Tate | Seattle Seahawks | WR | 2 | 0.00 | 21 | 0.03 | 23 | 0.03 |
Antonio Brown | Pittsburgh Steelers | WR | 3 | 0.00 | 18 | 0.02 | 22 | 0.02 |
Stephen Burton | Jacksonville Jaguars | WR | 21 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 21 | 0.01 |
Phillip Adams | Oakland Raiders | DB | 0 | 0.00 | 20 | 0.02 | 20 | 0.02 |
Ace Sanders | Jacksonville Jaguars | WR | 0 | 0.00 | 20 | 0.02 | 20 | 0.02 |
Robert Alford | Atlanta Falcons | DB | 6 | 0.00 | 12 | 0.01 | 18 | 0.02 |
Marcus Sherels | Minnesota Vikings | DB | 8 | 0.00 | 10 | 0.01 | 18 | 0.01 |
Michael Cox | New York Giants | RB | 15 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 15 | 0.00 |
Rueben Randle | New York Giants | WR | 0 | 0.00 | 14 | 0.02 | 14 | 0.02 |
Denard Robinson | Jacksonville Jaguars | RB | 14 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 14 | 0.00 |
Adam Jones | Cincinnati Bengals | DB | 3 | 0.00 | 10 | 0.03 | 14 | 0.03 |
Devin McCourty | New England Patriots | DB | 11 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 11 | 0.00 |
Travaris Cadet | New Orleans Saints | RB | 6 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.00 | 9 | 0.01 |
Kyle Wilson | New York Jets | DB | 7 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 7 | 0.00 |
Austin Pettis | St. Louis Rams | WR | 5 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.00 | 6 | 0.00 |
Lance Dunbar | Dallas Cowboys | RB | 5 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
Jeremy Lane | Seattle Seahawks | DB | 5 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
William Blackmon | Jacksonville Jaguars | DB | 0 | 0.00 | 5 | 0.01 | 5 | 0.01 |
Marcus Easley | Buffalo Bills | WR | 5 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
Brandon Boykin | Philadelphia Eagles | DB | 5 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
Patrick Edwards | Detroit Lions | WR | 2 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.00 | 5 | 0.00 |
Davone Bess | Cleveland Browns | WR | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.01 | 4 | 0.01 |
Mike Jenkins | Oakland Raiders | DB | 4 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
Taiwan Jones | Oakland Raiders | RB | 4 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
Greg Little | Cleveland Browns | WR | 4 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
Bobby Rainey | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | WR | 2 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
Mike Gillislee | Miami Dolphins | RB | 2 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
Wes Welker | Denver Broncos | WR | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.01 | 4 | 0.01 |
Niles Paul | Washington Redskins | TE | 4 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
Dominique Franks | Atlanta Falcons | DB | 3 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.00 |
Omar Bolden | Denver Broncos | DB | 3 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.00 |
Alfonso Smith | Arizona Cardinals | RB | 3 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.00 |
LaMichael James | San Francisco 49ers | RB | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.00 |
Perrish Cox | San Francisco 49ers | DB | 3 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.00 |
Tyrann Mathieu | Arizona Cardinals | DB | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.00 | 3 | 0.00 |
Walter Thurmond | Seattle Seahawks | DB | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
DeSean Jackson | Philadelphia Eagles | WR | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.01 | 2 | 0.01 |
Cole Beasley | Dallas Cowboys | WR | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
Joique Bell | Detroit Lions | RB | 2 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
Kenjon Barner | Carolina Panthers | RB | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
Knile Davis | Kansas City Chiefs | RB | 2 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
Jeremy Kerley | New York Jets | WR | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
Jim Leonhard | Buffalo Bills | DB | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 | 2 | 0.00 |
Santana Moss | Washington Redskins | WR | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.00 |
Armond Smith | Carolina Panthers | RB | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.00 |
Jarius Wright | Minnesota Vikings | WR | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.00 |
Harry Douglas | Atlanta Falcons | WR | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.00 |