Watson & Doubs May Give Packers Return Units Needed Spark

The Green Bay Packers special teams unit in 2021 was abysmal, to say the least. We don’t need any numbers to back this statement up either, as we all know this after watching blunder after blunder take place on a weekly basis, and ultimately, the special teams unit was one of the deciding factors in Green Bay’s playoff loss to San Francisco.

Changes to the unit are being made, although only time will tell if there will be any significant improvements. But this offseason, Green Bay has brought in Rich Bisaccia as the new special teams coordinator, and they would sign free agents Pat O’Donnell and Keisean Nixon, which at a minimum, shows that there is an added emphasis on the unit.

Another boost that the Green Bay Packers special teams unit may have received over the weekend of the NFL Draft could be coming to the punt and kick return units.

Like pretty much every other aspect of the Packers’ special teams play, Green Bay’s kick and punt return units had their issues. Rather than bringing some juice and playmaking ability, we all just hoped that the opponent would either kick the ball through the end zone or we’d see a clean fair catch on punt return attempts.

Amari Rodgers handled a bulk of the punt return attempts and too often struggled to field the ball cleanly or he looked very indecisive in his decision making. Out of 36 eligible return men, Rodgers ranked 23rd with 8.0 yards per attempt, according to PFF ($$), and that figure is even a little higher than where it was for much of the year after he had a few decent returns late in the season.

The kick return unit, which was primarily led by Malik Taylor once Kylin Hill suffered his season-ending injury, didn’t find much success either, with even getting the ball to the 25-yard line being a struggle. Had Taylor qualified with enough return attempts, his average of 19.4 yards would have ranked 33rd out of 42 players. Overall, this average ranked 74th out of 100 eligible kick return men, and as a team, Green Bay averaged 17.7 yards per kick return, which ranked 30th, according to Statmuse.

However, help could be on the way in the forms of Chrisitan Watson and Romeo Doubs. Watson was an All-American kick returner during his time at North Dakota State, averaging 26.4 yards per return on 26 career attempts. He would also record a blazing fast 4.36-second 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine.

Doubs, meanwhile, has 37 career punt return attempts while at Nevada and averaged an impressive 12.4 yards per return with a touchdown. Doubs would reportedly run a 4.47-second 40-yard dash at a workout this offseason.

Now, of course, this experience and success doesn’t mean it will translate to the NFL level–for example, Amari Rodgers had 68 career punt return attempts while at Clemson. However, Doubs and Watson provide the Green Bay Packers with two new options, both of whom bring an added playmaking ability that Rodgers and Taylor don’t quite possess.

I also have to mention the added injury risk that comes with being a return man, and in addition to any punt or kick return duties that either Watson or Doubs may have, to varying degrees, both will be in the offensive gameplan each week as well. This is something that Matt LaFleur will have to take into consideration when deciding who he wants fielding punts and kicks and the added risks that come with those roles.

Ultimately, we will have to wait and see how things unfold during training camp and the preseason, but for a Green Bay Packers kick and punt return unit that was void of playmaking, the additions of Watson and Doubs over the weekend could provide that much-needed spark.