Seahawks 2020: Who should return kicks for Seattle

NFL rule changes have diminished the impact of kick returns, a good kick and punt returner can change games. The Seahawks have Tyler Lockett but should they use him?

Tyler Lockett has become the Seahawks best receiver. That is a problem. That is not because Lockett isn’t a good receiver, the problem is he is too good. Lockett out of college was a great return guy, either kick returns or punt returns, but now he has become too valuable as a receiver to risk him returning kicks.

The Seahawks have several players who are capable of returning kicks, but they may or may not be very good at it. For a couple of seasons, the punt returner job basically came down to who can catch the punt, not fumble it and try not to do too much with the punt lest he fumbles it after starting the return.

Seattle has a few young guys who are capable of filling the role that Tyler Lockett should not be filling. Lockett needs to stay at receiver unless the game is massively important and he is asked to return punts in crucial situations. But hopefully, by that time a new returner will have risen from the ashes of what was left of Seattle’s return game.

Here are three who could possibly do the job

DeeJay Dallas

Seattle isn’t averse to using rookies in the return game as Travis Homer received kicks last year. Dallas didn’t do a whole lot in 2019 with returns but in 2018 he was pretty good at returning punts with an average of 17.4 yards a return on 11 punts, including a touchdown.

Aaron Fuller

Fuller might have trouble catching on as a receiver, at least he might not be expected to do a whole lot in his rookie season. But his best chance of making the Seahawks in 2020 is by showing he can return punts. Kickoffs in the NFL have been relegated by the rules to not happen nearly as much, so punt returning is more important.

At the University of Washington in 2019, Fuller returned 22 punts for 11.4 yards per and a touchdown. He has the speed to translate success of punt returning in college to the NFL and it could be enough to land him a roster spot.

Freddie Swain

The Seahawks clearly have higher hopes for Swain than they do Fuller because they actually chose to draft Swain. As FanSided’s Gator site told me, Swain is a really good punt returner. Or at least he was in 2018.

But Swain does do one thing really well and that is hold on to the ball. If he gets hands on a punt or kick, he might not always do a lot with the ball but he at least won’t turn it over. And sometimes this is all Pete Carroll asks of his Seahawks returners.