3 Free Agent Returners for Green Bay Packers to Target
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers Free Agent Target: Braxton Berrios – WR
A recent article from Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic would predict Braxton Berrios signing with the Green Bay Packers in large part because of his return ability, but he is also coming off a career year as a receiver.
As a kick returner, Berrios was named an All-Pro for the New York Jets last season, averaging 30.4 yards per return along with a touchdown, according to PFF. That was the second-best average in the NFL, and he did so with 10 more return attempts than the yards per return leader, Kene Nwangwu.
Berrios would also go on to finish with the fourth-best punt return average in 2021 as well–averaging 13.8 yards per return. Berrios has an impressive career average of 11.5 yards per punt return on 46 attempts.
Like McCloud, Berrios has primarily been a slot receiver over his career. After tallying 394 receiving yards in 2020, Berrios would improve upon that performance with 431 yards this past season. He has a career catch rate of 72.4% and is averaging 10.6 yards per catch. Berrios is also coming from the Jets, where Mike LaFleur was the offensive coordinator, so the transition to Green Bay’s offense should be a relatively smooth one.
Spotrac currently projects that Berrios will earn $5.9 million per year on his next contract. With the way that the Green Bay Packers typically backload contracts, even at that average annual value, Berrios’ cap hit would likely be just a few million dollars in 2021.