In 2024, the Seattle Seahawks spent decent money on trying to find a player who could create explosive plays on special teams. The team even kept undrafted free agent Dee Williams on the active 53-man roster even though he couldn't do anything but return kicks and punts.
Seattle learned fairly quickly that Williams and fellow returner Laviska Shenault were not consistent in fielding the kick and then not turning the ball over. By the end of the season, Seattle went with safer options, though less explosive ones.
Williams and Shenault's failures did not mean that the Seahawks were making a permanent approach in how they handled return duties, though. Ideally, general manager John Schneider and head coach Mike Macdonald still want guys who can change the trajectory of games with one great return.
Courtney Jackson could be a sneaky good signing for the Seattle Seahawks
Through training camp and the preseason, several players got a chance to field punts. Surprisingly, wide receiver Jake Bobo was the most productive in the preseason with 34 yards on three punt returns, but he also was concussed on his final attempt and fumbled the ball.
This is where undrafted free agent Courtney Jackson comes in. The Denver Broncos originally signed Jackson out of Arkansas State, but the Broncos had a full wide receiver room and released him. In the preseason, though, Jackson returned five punts for a very good average of 14.8 yards per return.
In college, he was very good at returning punts, including four total touchdowns. Three of those came in the last two seasons. On 15 returns last season, he averaged 18.5 yards a return. In other words, he potentially has a lot of explosiveness.
He spent five full seasons in college, starting at Syracuse before transferring to Arkansas State, and he is 24 years old. He might have the maturity to understand when to return a punt and when not to. While game-changing plays are great, many times playing things safe is better.
The Seattle Seahawks signed Courtney Jackson to the practice squad last week, but practice squads are truly just an extension of the active 53-man roster. Teams can elevate players three times before they have to be added to the roster.
Seattle could make Jackson active for Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers and let him return punts. If he does well, he could be activated in Week 2 and see what happens. If he doesn't impress, nothing is truly lost. But the upside with Jackson is too much to pass on currently.