Return-yardage leagues are a still-underserved sector of the fantasy football community. That’s good news for you, though. It means you can gain an advantage over your competition by leveraging your league’s scoring rules.
Here are 20 guys to boost up your rankings in return-yardage leagues:
Pittsburgh has used Brown judiciously on punt returns. His 15 tries last year marked a career low — and continued a steady decline from 32 back in 2013. Last season also broke a streak of 3 straight years with a punt-return TD. Brown has scored on special teams in 5 of 7 seasons.
Don’t expect big return contributions from him in 2017, but whatever he adds only enhances the profile of a guy who’s already the safest pick in Round 1 of fantasy drafts.
In addition to finishing 2nd on the Chiefs in receiving yards (593) and 3rd in rushing yards (267) last year, Hill was a dynamo in the return game. His 592 punt-return yards led the league and were a whopping 228 more than anyone else. Hill also ranked 19th with 384 kick-return yards and scored 3 times on special teams.
Hill’s offensive playing time is set to grow in 2017, but he should also remain Kansas City’s primary return man. He’s worth considering as early as the 3rd round in return-yardage leagues.
This one’s pure projection. We haven’t heard whether the Panthers plan to use McCaffrey on special teams. But it’d certainly make sense to.
Stanford did. McCaffrey averaged 26.4 yards per kick return, 11.2 yards per punt return and scored twice on special teams across 3 college seasons. He’s an absolute terror in the open field and would juice up a Panthers return game that lost Ted Ginn this offseason.
Landry was taken off kick returns last year and was scaled back on punts. He still chipped in 163 yards on 16 returns, though — a 10.2-yard average that ranked 10th among all players with 10+ tries.
Bump him a few spots up the WR rankings in return-yardage leagues.
We’ll see whether the Packers opt to keep using their new starting RB in the return game. Montgomery is a natural fit there, though. He scored 5 times on special teams across 4 college seasons and tallied 584 yards on 25 kick returns for the Packers over the last 2 years.
Montgomery led the team with 18 kick returns for 366 yards in 2016.
After serving as New England’s primary punt returner from 2010-2014, Edelman has shared those duties the past 2 years. He finished 2nd on the squad with 15 returns in 2016 but led the way with 135 yards. Edelman also returned 3 kickoffs — his first since 2012.
Bank on him adding another 100-200 yards on special teams this season.
Crowder is a prime 2017 leap candidate on offense with the offseason departures of WRs DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon. His ceiling climbs even higher in return-yardage leagues.
Only 2 guys racked up more punt-return yards than Crowder’s 328 last year. His 12.1-yard average ranked 6th among players with 10+ attempts. And he scored an 85-yard TD.
Consider Crowder a WR2 in return-yardage leagues.
In an injury-ravaged 2016 season, Brown still tallied 170 yards on 18 returns (17 punts, 1 kickoff). There’s upside for more if he’s healthier this year.
Brown boasts 4.3 speed and was named NCAA Division II National Special Teams Player of the Year back in 2013. He scored 5 return TDs in 3 seasons at Pittsburgh State.
Johnson managed just 112 yards on 17 punt returns last year but is expected to be Cleveland’s primary punt returner again in 2017. That makes him a more appealing RB3 or flex in return-yardage leagues.
Austin is a viable weekly starter in return-yardage leagues. He’s posted at least 268 punt-return yards in all 4 of his NFL seasons. His 364 last year were his 2nd most and ranked 2nd league-wide. Last year also marked his 1st pro season without a punt return TD.
The 34-year-old has remained effective in the return game. He took 17 punts for 224 yards last year — a 13.2-yard average that ranked 4th among all players with 10+ attempts. Sproles didn’t hit pay dirt on special teams but scored twice in both of the previous 2 seasons.
We’ll just need to keep an eye on rookie Donnel Pumphrey, who reportedly saw a lot of action in the return game this spring.
We’ll see whether Seattle scales back Lockett’s special teams usage after last December’s broken leg. But he’s clearly the top return man on the roster.
He racked up 606 yards on kick returns last year and 243 on punts — a total of 849 return yards that only 4 guys topped. And that was despite operating at less than 100% for much of the season. Lockett compiled 1,231 return yards as a rookie in 2015.
Ginn already boasts some sleeper appeal as the likely #3 WR in New Orleans’ high-powered passing game. He might just be a weekly starter in return-yardage leagues.
Ginn ranks 3rd in the NFL with 6,842 kick-return yards since arriving in 2007. His 2,497 punt-return yards are good for 4th. He’s scored 7 total special teams TDs across those 10 seasons.
While he’s slowed down a bit in recent years, his 593 total return yards in 2016 still ranked 14th league-wide.
Fuller turned in an up-and-down (mostly down) rookie season at WR. But he buoyed his value by chipping in on special teams. Fuller handled 11 punt returns — 2nd on the team behind Tyler Ervin’s 27 — and totaled 165 yards and a score. That 15.0 yard average beat Ervin by over 5 yards and ranked 2nd among all players with 10+ attempts.
Lee’s coming off a career-best 63-851-3 receiving line — and a strong season on special teams.
He ranked 9th league-wide with 545 kick-return yards, despite finishing tied for 12th in attempts. Lee’s 30.3-yard average was good for 3rd among players with 10+ returns. He also scored a 100-yarder in Week 15.
Richard averaged 5.9 yards per carry and caught 29 balls as a rookie last year. Now he’s sitting behind a 31-year-old starter who was out of the league in 2016. So he’s already an intriguing late-round flier.
Richard is even more interesting in return-yardage leagues after handling 17 kick returns and 34 punt returns last season. His 708 total return yards ranked 9th league-wide.
On top of serving as Washington’s primary pass-catching back last year, Thompson also handled kick returns. He turned 17 attempts into 360 yards. He should maintain that role in 2017, making him worth considering late in PPR leagues with return-yardage scoring.
Ross was a dynamic kick returner at Washington. He averaged 24.1 yards per and scored 4 TDs on 86 attempts. His 4.2 speed makes him a threat to take any kick to the house.
We don’t know for sure whether the Bengals will use their 1st-round rookie on returns. They actually ranked 3rd in yards per kick return as a team last year. And Ross has an injury history that Cincinnati needs to take into account.
We’re betting that he’s used selectively in the return game this season, so don’t push him too high up your rankings.
Patterson will duke it out with Seth Roberts for the #3 WR job in Oakland, but he’s locked in as the team’s kick returner. He sports a career 30.4-yard average — tops among all 71 players with 20+ attempts over the past 4 seasons. Patterson has also taken 5 returns to the house, including 3 over the last 2 years.
A non-factor in standard leagues, he could climb as high as WR3 territory in return-yardage leagues, depending on your exact scoring system.
Kerley is a long shot to match last year’s 64 catches with Pierre Garcon in town. But he should remain the 49ers’ primary punt returner. He churned out 158 yards on 21 attempts in 2016 and has registered at least 115 yards in all 6 NFL seasons.
He’s worth a look near the end of deeper return-yardage drafts.