Big-Play CFL Return Man DeVonte Dedmon Works Out for Green Bay Packers

There are two main reasons that the Green Bay Packers would be looking to upgrade their kick and punt return units.

The first is that these should be easily upgradeable positions. Amari Rodgers has largely handled the punt return duties his season, and of the 18 eligible return men, he ranks 12th with an average return of 7.5 yards. However, the real issues are his indecisiveness with the ball in his hands and his inability at times to field punts cleanly.

The kick return unit, often led by Malik Taylor, hasn’t been much better. Out of the 100 NFL players with at least one return attempt this season, Taylor ranks 69th with an average of 19.4 yards. And in case you were wondering, Rodgers ranks 100th with a 16.8 yard average, according to PFF ($$).

Now, the second reason that Green Bay could look to upgrade these positions, is that for the time being, they are going to be without both Taylor and Rodgers. Taylor was placed on IR over the weekend, and the soonest he can return is three weeks from now. While Rodgers was placed on the reserve/COVID list on Monday and could miss Sunday’s game against Minnesota.

Current on the roster options to replace Taylor and Rodgers include Patrick Taylor or Aaron Jones on kick returns — although there is certainly an increased injury risk to utilizing Jones — and Chandon Sullivan on punt returns.

So for those reasons that we just discussed, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Packers held a workout on Monday for DeVonte Dedmon, a big-play return man who has spent his pro career in the CFL.

The 5’10” – 200 pound Dedmon played his college ball at William & Mary from 2014 to 2018 and has never taken an NFL snap. Instead, he spent 2019 and 2021 in the CFL.

As a receiver, he has 15 receptions on 18 targets at 10.7 yards per catch. He also has 10 carries for 68 yards and a touchdown. However, where Dedmon has really made an impact, and what I imagine the Packers have interest in, are his return abilities.

Over that same two-year span, Dedmon has 70 punt return attempts and is averaging a whopping 15.4 yards per return, with three touchdowns. He’s also been very effective as a kick returner, with 65 career attempts, two touchdowns, and a 27.2 yard average–again, very good.

"“DeVonte’s skill set is special and has the reputation of altering the game when he is on the field,” said Ottawa interim GM Jeremy Snyder via the team site. “He is a true threat with the ball in his hands to score at any time. This is the first step of many to build for a better 2022.”"

Of course, the level of play from the CFL to the NFL is a big leap and expectations shouldn’t be that Dedmon would put up those ridiculous numbers for Green Bay, or any team, for that matter.

But with that said, for a Packers team that is really struggling to find any sort of stability or play-making on their punt and kick return units, why not take a swing on Dedmon, or at least until Rodgers and Taylor are healthy. I mean, what do they have to lose at this point?