Impact
>Bills – KR McGee is excellent, and PR Parrish is an exciting playmaker in the open field
>Browns – KR Cribbs has excellent home-run threat, but the PR game lacks some consistency
>Chiefs – KR/PR Hall is no longer the league’s most feared return specialist as previous years
>Falcons – They could end up as one of the worst teams in the league, giving them KR chances
>Lions – KR Drummond is solid, but they may experience teams kicking away from him
>Raiders – KR & PR Carr will be challenged by rookie Higgins, but both are electrifying
Solid
>Chargers – KR Sproles or Turner are solid, but the PR unit seems to lack some firepower
>Colts – Dungy’s never had good luck with return units, and no signs of much change here
>Cowboys – KR Thompson has speed to break it all the way, but can’t seem to find holes yet
>Eagles – They don’t have a return specialist that stands out, but usually posts decent numbers
>Packers – The team will give up its share of scores to have return opportunities
>Panthers – If Smith gets involved in the PR game, it’s a difference-maker, but that’s up in the air
>Patriots – Free agent acquisition Welker was brought on board to shore up this part of the team
>Rams – They seem to rate at this level every season since Hakim’s departure in 2003
>Redskins – No real home-run threat in the return game, but they’ll give up a lot of scores
Top
Average
>Broncos – Marshall is a good return specialist, but could end up being saved for more WR time
>Buccaneers – They don’t have much speed or open-field skills in their return game
>Cardinals – The top return man has yet to be determined, leaving this unit up in the air
>Giants – They don’t have a speedster that excels in the open field, and no rookies are stepping up
>Ravens – The unit used to excel, but the defense just doesn’t give up a lot of scores regularly
>Seahawks – No real stand-out on this unit, but seems to post decent numbers every week
>Texans – This unit will always rate here, since they give up enough scores to post numbers
Below Average
>49ers – Battle has sure hands & occasional flashes, but the unit is very inconsistent
>Bengals – No real specialist on this unit, but a rookie will likely step into the role by default
>Steelers – Team has yet to settle on a lone KR or PR man to this point; expect inconsistency
>Titans – The loss of Pacman kills any expected productivity from this unit this season
>Vikings – Nothing really stands out from this unit to rate them above the other teams
Top
