Kick return leagues can be tricky, with plenty of role changes and injuries turning your return-league stud into a not-so-special teamer. We saw Jacoby Jones drop from the rankings after taking a vicious hit from his own teammate in the Ravens’ season-opener while David Wilson stayed plenty healthy but failed to return a single kick. At the same time, we’ve added plenty of players who showed some Week 1 promise.
It’s important not to overthink your decisions in return leagues. Don’t try to out-guess coaching staffs. We’ll get a better sense of what everyone’s role is as the season moves along but for now, we work with what we have. The important thing to remember is that regulars get a decent boost of a typically small amount of yards while backups can make themselves very relevant if they prove to be potent returners. Let’s take a look at the Return League Big Board as we head into Week 2.
Fantasy points are based on standard Yahoo scoring plus one point per every 10 return yards.
| Rank | Wk1Rank | Player |
2013 RET Yards |
2013 RET TD |
Total FPS |
PPR FPS |
Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Randall Cobb |
16 |
0 |
19 |
26 |
He figures to be Rodgers’ favorite target after a team-leading 12 TGT on Sunday. He won’t touch last season’s return numbers since it doesn’t look like he’ll return kickoffs but a part-time punt return job improves his value even more. |
| 2 | 2 | Darren Sproles |
30 |
0 |
14 |
20 |
Sproles struggled on the ground but had a strong receiving game against the Falcons. Sproles returned every kickoff and punt so he should remain the return league beast he’s always been. |
| 3 | 0 | Wes Welker |
27 |
0 |
21.4 |
30.4 |
Welker fumbled his first punt return attempt but he looks to be Peyton’s favorite target after an 11 TGT day and some return yards will be even more icing on the cake. |
| 4 | 9 | DeSean Jackson |
10 |
0 |
17.4 |
24.4 |
Jackson returned just one punt against the Skins but as Michael Vick‘s only elite target, the potential for any return yards only increases his already rising value. |
| 5 | 7 | Antonio Brown |
17 |
0 |
9.2 |
14.2 |
The Steelers will use several returners but Brown got a kick return and punt return in Week 1 and should definitely put up more receiving yards than the 71 he posted against the Titans. |
| 6 | 0 | Julian Edelman |
32 |
0 |
23.1 |
30.1 |
After a huge Week 1, Edelman will see an even larger role with Danny Amendola hurt. Edelman got all three punt returns against the Bills and will likely remain the full-time punt returner. |
| 7 | 6 | Dexter McCluster |
80 |
0 |
12.3 |
15.3 |
A perfect example of a guy only relevant in return leagues, McCluster added a good looking eight fantasy points off of seven returns. Don’t expect that many returns again but he also saw five targets (just one less than Dwayne Bowe) and outscored plenty a star in PPR return leagues. |
| 8 | 19 | Golden Tate |
48 |
0 |
9.9 |
13.9 |
Tate catapults up the Big Board after returning all four punts against the Panthers. The Seahawks defense will get plenty of three-and-outs so this, coupled with a six target game, makes Tate very, very relevant in return leagues. |
| 9 | 15 | T.Y. Hilton |
23 |
0 |
4.3 |
7.3 |
With no kick returns and just one punt return in the game for the Colts, Hilton’s return league value suffered, just like his standard league value. This is a good buy-low candidate in return leagues. One-return games are fairly rare and Hilton will certainly see more targets than the five he saw on Sunday. |
| 10 | 5 | Tavon Austin |
1 |
0 |
4.2 |
10.2 |
There was only one punt to return against the Cards and it went nowhere. Austin saw a solid seven targets and will get more punt returns in most games so I’m not too worried about the rookie just yet. |
| 11 | 0 | Harry Douglas |
21 |
0 |
11.4 |
15.4 |
Douglas won’t put up the receiving numbers he did in Week 1 when Roddy White‘s healthy but he appears to be the Falcons’ full-time punt returner so that should boost his value if he can put be at least solid on the receiving side. |
| 12 | 13 | Jeremy Kerley |
28 |
0 |
7.3 |
10.3 |
Kerley has a concussion and is likely to miss Thursday’s affair with the Pats but he figures to be one of the Geno Smith‘s main targets and the Jets’ full-time punt returner. |
| 13 | 0 | Keshawn Martin |
137 |
0 |
13.7 |
13.7 |
Martin did not see any targets but figures to be the Texans’ full-time kick and punt returner. He won’t have four kick returns often but we’ve seen guys propel themselves into return league relevance with return yards alone. |
| 14 | 10 | Cordarelle Patterson |
54 |
0 |
6.4 |
7.4 |
Patterson saw just one target in Week 1, which is suspect. He figures to be the full-time kick returner, though, and if he can get more than a measly 10 receiving yards he’ll become very startable in return leagues. |
| 15 | 0 | Travis Benjamin |
31 |
0 |
7.5 |
10.5 |
He only caught three passes but saw eight targets. He figures to be the Browns’ full-time punt returner so if he can rein in more catches, his value will see an even bigger boost. |
| 16 | 0 | LeGarrette Blount |
35 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
Blount didn’t look great but he did get seven carries and returned both Bills’ kickoffs. With Shane Vereen out for most of the season, Blount can see a big value increase. |
| 17 | 14 | Trindon Holliday |
36 |
0 |
3.6 |
3.6 |
There weren’t any kicks for Holliday to return but he’s the full-time kick returner and will return most punts so he still has plenty of return league value after an 1,100 yard, two RET TD season in 2012. |
| 18 | 16 | Ted Ginn Jr. |
10 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
With no kick returns to be had and just one punt return, Ginn showed the risk of return-only players. He still figures to return all kicks and most punts so he should have value in return leagues. |
| 19 | 12 | Marcus Thigpen |
31 |
0 |
3.1 |
3.1 |
It was only a one kick, three punt return day for Thigpen against the Browns but the speedy Indiana product is still coming off a 1,350 yard, two RET TD season in 2012. |
New on the Big Board: Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, Harry Douglas, Keshawn Martin, Travis Benjamin, LeGarrette Blount
Off the Big Board: #4 Jacoby Jones (out), #3 David Wilson (zero returns in Week 1), #8 Emmanuel Sanders (zero returns in Week 1), # 11 Jacquizz Rodgers (zero returns)
