With LaVelle Hawkins taking most of the kick return opportunities, and few points allowed by the Chargers defense, we have to drop one of our return league juggernauts, Danny Woodhead, from the rankings. We’ll keep on eye on Woody and see if he gets back into the fold but for now, play him like you would in a regular league. We’ve also had to drop Jeremy Kerley from the rankings with Josh Cribbs coming over and taking over all of the kick and punt return opportunities. Play Kerley as you would in any other league from here on in, or don’t play him at all.
With six-team bye weeks upon us, we may have to lean on some return-only players to get us through. Let’s take a look at how the Return League Big Board is shaping up for Week 8.
| Rank | Wk 7 Rank | Player |
2013 |
2013 RET TD |
2013 |
2013 PPR FPS |
Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Darren Sproles |
285 |
0 |
88.9 |
120.9 |
Sproles had a bye this week but remains the top return league play with a healthy combination of return, rushing, and receiving yardage. |
| 2 | 3 | Jacoby Jones |
183 |
0 |
34.1 |
43.1 |
Jones’ second week back was as productive as his first. He brought the ball back for 81 yards while adding four receptions for 32 yards, giving him 15.3 PPR points on the week. His role on offense figures to expand as well so he’s a must-start in all return leagues. |
| 3 | 4 | Julian Edelman |
243 |
0 |
82.9 |
128.9 |
Edelman’s offense has been lackluster of late but his return yardage has been a huge help in return leagues. His 58 return yards against the Jets sure made his five reception, 44 yard effort look a lot better, giving him 15.2 PPR points on the day. |
| 4 | 6 | Golden Tate |
270 |
0 |
70.5 |
97.5 |
Tate’s 27 return yards gave him a good boost on an otherwise solid four reception, 77 yard day and he walked away with 14.4 PPR points. He’ll usually have bigger return days and remains a trusted target for Russell Wilson so he’s a must-start in return leagues. |
| 5 | 5 | Ted Ginn Jr. |
297 |
0 |
70.2 |
85.2 |
Ginn hasn’t contributed much on offense over the last two weeks and it looks like the Ted Ginn offensive juice has run out. Still, his 53 return yards helped a pedestrian two reception, 34 yard effort, giving him 10.7 PPR points so he remains startable depending on the matchup. |
| 6 | 7 | Jacquizz Rodgers |
90 |
0 |
67.8 |
92.8 |
Rodgers had a monster day against the Bucs, posting only 21 return yards but catching eight passes for 46 yards and two scores and rushing for an additional 16 yards. We’ll see what kind of offensive role he’ll play when Steven Jackson returns but he’s definitely very startable in return leagues. |
| 7 | 12 | Dexter McCluster |
352 |
1 |
60.3 |
76.3 |
Although he only put up 32 return yards, he posted a solid four receptions for 70 yards, giving him 14.2 PPR points on the day. He’ll usually get more return yards and if he can maintain this kind of offensive production he’ll remain startable in return leagues. |
| 8 | 13 | Dwayne Harris |
563 |
1 |
75.5 |
81.5 |
Harris didn’t figure into the offensive picture at all, getting just six rushing yards on an end-around play but put up a solid 62 return yards. After a couple of promising weeks, Harris looks to be unstartable once again. |
| 9 | 9 | Cordarrelle Patterson |
475 |
1 |
64.4 |
75.4 |
Patterson’s 69 return yards, three receptions, and 22 receiving yards gave him a solid 12.1 PPR points and as long as he continues to get at least a few passes on offense he’ll be startable depending on the matchup. |
| 10 | 10 | Keshawn Martin |
614 |
0 |
71.8 |
79.8 |
Martin had just 28 return yards and didn’t figure into the offense after being limited in practice all week. Perhaps he’ll see a larger role after the bye week when he gets healthier. |
| 11 | 11 | Trindon Holliday |
566 |
2 |
68.6 |
68.6 |
Holliday had a huge 139 return yard day against the Colts but remains a dangerous play since he never figures into the offensive game. |
| 12 | 14 | Devin Hester |
735 |
1 |
79.5 |
79.5 |
Hester has been so dominant in returns that he’s not a bad bye week replacement despite not figuring into the offense. His 125 yard, one touchdown day is the third time in the last six weeks that he’s eclipsed 100 return yards. |
| 13 | 16 | LeGarrette Blount |
231 |
0 |
51.0 |
51.0 |
Blount only got four rushing yards but put up a big 96 return yard day. If he really is no longer a significant part of the offense, he’ll be unstartable with days like this few and far between. |
| 14 | 17 | Felix Jones |
259 |
0 |
40.2 |
45.2 |
Jones only got 42 return yards and 16 rushing yards so he’s not going to be startable unless Bell gets hurt again. |
| 15 | 15 | Damaris Johnson |
464 |
0 |
47.2 |
48.2 |
After a promising Week 6, Johnson only put up 28 return yards and didn’t factor into the offense so he’s as far from startable as it gets right now. |
*FPS based on Yahoo standard scoring.
Off the Big Board: Danny Woodhead, Jeremy Kerley
