Can David Moore have Tyler Ervin-like Impact on Packers Return Units?

If you recall, for much of the 2019 season, the Green Bay Packers punt return unit wasn’t just bad, but they were on a historically bad pace.

Through 12 games — so a large portion of the season — the Packers had totaled minus-8 punt return yards. And yes, you read that correctly, minus-8 punt return yards. No team in NFL history would finish an entire NFL season with so few return yards.

Now, fortunately, Green Bay avoided being on the wrong side of history thanks to the late-season addition of Tyler Ervin. In his first game with the Packers, Ervin would total 51 return yards that week, and over the final four games, he finished with an average of 9.6 yards on 11 return attempts.

Ervin didn’t have enough return attempts with Green Bay to qualify but had he maintained that pace for an entire season; he would have had the fourth-highest average in the NFL that year.

Ervin would also average 26.7 yards per kick return with the Packers on six attempts–a figure that once again would have ranked as the fourth-best over an entire season had he qualified with enough return attempts.

This season’s punt return unit isn’t struggling nearly as badly as the 2019 unit did, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvements. And the kick return unit could sure use a boost as well.

In a recent article of mine, I would detail the struggles and ineffectiveness of the Packers return units:

"“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 ($$).”"

In addition to issues that Rodgers and Taylor have had as return men, this past week, the Packers were without both players. Rodgers was on the reserve/COVID list while Taylor still sits on IR.

Needing someone to return kicks and punts, Green Bay would sign veteran receiver David Moore to the practice squad late last week. Moore was a 2017 seventh-round pick by Seattle with 137 career targets, 1,221 yards, and 13 touchdowns. But with the Packers, special teams are where Moore can really make his impact–which we saw against Minnesota.

Moore entered Sunday’s contest with 22 career punt return attempts, averaging 8.4 yards per return. He also had four career kick return attempts with an average of 16.3 yards per return.

Moore didn’t have the opportunity to return any kicks with each potential attempt going into the end zone, but we did see what he can add to this punt return unit. Moore had three punt return attempts totaling 33 yards — or an average of 11 yards per return — with a long of 21, which, as I’m sure you would guess, is the longest of the season by a Green Bay Packers player.

While, yes, this is a very small sample size, it’s hard not to be impressed with what we saw. Moore was able to field the ball cleanly, he was decisive in his decision-making, and he displayed very good vision. Sure, that sounds simple, but as we’ve seen, it’s not always that easy.

"“I thought he did an outstanding job,” Head Coach Matt LaFleur said of Moore via Packers.com. “He had a lot of success it looked like, from my vantage point. I was really impressed by him.”"

Moore has since been reverted back to the practice squad as he was elevated for just that one game, and Rodgers is back off the reserve/COVID list. However, I can’t imagine that Moore won’t be back as Green Bay’s primary return man moving forward.

Two seasons ago, Ervin was a late-season addition that turned a liability on this Green Bay Packers team into a functional unit. During the playoffs, a team’s weaknesses are magnified; if Moore can have a similar impact as Ervin, it will go a long way in helping this Packers team make their Super Bowl push.