The Seattle Seahawks’ return game was a massive problem last season.
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Most notably, there were a slew of miscues. Dee Williams and Laviska Shenault Jr. combined for three lost fumbles on kick returns and two muffed punts, which ultimately led to them being waived in early December.
There also was a lack of overall impact. The Seahawks finished 16th in the league in yards per kick return (28.0) and 29th in yards per punt return (7.4). That placed Seattle’s offense at a disadvantage with the second-worst average starting field position in the league.
Special teams tend to get overlooked. But as former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus emphasized during a Four Down Territory segment on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy, the Seahawks need better results from their return units this season – especially with touchbacks moving up to the 35-yard line, which figures to make kick returns a larger part of the game.
“We’ve talked about the offensive line all day,” Bumpus said. “Can Sam Darnold handle the pressure? What’s the receiving corps gonna look like? We’re confident with the defense. But we don’t talk about special teams enough – especially the return game. You need a good returner in this game.”
The Hawks’ top return candidates
At the moment, the top return options for the Seahawks this season appear to be veteran return specialist Steven Sims Jr., running back Kenny McIntosh and rookie fifth-round wide receiver Tory Horton.
Sims, who signed with Seattle in March, has 74 career punt returns for an average of 6.2 yards per return and 62 career kick return for an average of 25.2 yards per return. He has one career kick return touchdown and also scored on a 67-yard punt return TD during the playoffs in January 2024.
Horton had three punt return touchdowns over his three college seasons at Colorado State, while averaging 16.3 yards per return on 26 punts.
McIntosh, a third-year pro, returned six kickoffs last year for an average of 25.5 yards per return. He also returned 14 kicks for a 26.8-yard average during his college career at Georgia.
“If you can get a returner who is up in the top five when it comes to kickoff return yards and punt return yards, that’s just (a shorter) field for your offense,” Bumpus said. “We’re talking about what the offense needs to do – give them a shorter field. If the defense causes turnovers and returners move that ball, you help your offense out and (put) less pressure on these guys.”
Listen to the full Four Down Territory segment at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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