Chris Perkins: Tyreek Hill as Dolphins kickoff returner? Sorry, it's too risky even with the new rules.
Published in Football
You could argue the risk/reward hardly seems worthwhile.
What’s the best that would realistically happen with Hill returning kickoffs for the entire season?
One touchdown, and maybe 7 or 8 more yards per game, on average, above the next best returnman. (Braxton Berrios?)
Last season Berrios led the team with 18 kickoff returns, slightly more than one per game. He averaged 24.5 yards per return. That was sixth in the league among players with 15 or more kickoff returns.
Hill’s career average is 2.9 yards more per return than what Berrios averaged.
Is that worth risking an injury that could seriously derail your season?
You could argue Hill gets enough big-play opportunities through the course of a game.
Beyond that, the big picture idea is having Hill healthy for the playoffs.
Yes, every possession of every game counts in the race to get a home playoff game, or even the No. 1 seed in the AFC. That’s a huge issue.
The Dolphins must decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice in the battle for every yard of field position in every game.
...continued
©2024 South Florida Sun Sentinel. Visit at sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Comments