Jaxon Smith-Njigba could be a dual threat like rookie Tyler Lockett
Lockett had a ridiculous 40 punt and 33 kickoff returns his rookie year, and his 9.3-yard average on punt returns was wickedly better than the team’s 6.8 last season.
But the team traded up in the third-round to draft him, and while nobody knew he’d be this good, he had 664 yards on 69 nice targets, meaning they clearly thought of him as a valuable receiver early on as well. Yes, JSN indicates even higher capital at pick No. 20, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the running here. As big a deal as it is to have someone of his caliber at WR3 on this roster, that shouldn’t preclude him whatsoever from returning kicks. Lockett and DK Metcalf are still the engines of this offense, and no one would say he’s expendable, JSN’s still worth exploring returning a punt or two.
Unlike a few predecessors, like Lockett or Rashaad Penny, this wasn’t actually a specialty of Smith-Njigba’s in college. In 2021 he onlyBut when I attended training camp on Friday, the first drill out of the warmups was punt return, and the first player to receive the ball was JSN, and the first player to make me go “whoa who was that?” was...yeah.
It’s a truth as old as modern NFL that many, many players cut their teeth on special teams. Even occasionally the high picks. Even as good as JSN looks to be, don’t be surprised in the least if he gets a serious look at both receiver and punt returner throughout the preseason games.
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