Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill likely ‘No. 1 option’ at punt returner if needed against Raiders
As the days progress, it’s looking like the Chiefs might be without wide receiver Mecole Hardman for Sunday night’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Hardman landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list during the Chiefs’ off-week and remained there Thursday.
The Chiefs rely on Hardman as the primary punt returner and he leads the team with 66 yards on 10 attempts, so finding a potential replacement is important.
Good thing the Chiefs have the luxury of an effective Plan B.
“Tyreek (Hill), obviously, he’s a pretty good option for us,” Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said Thursday. “We would use that option if we needed it.”
Hill has just one return on the season, which came in Week 4, but he’s taken a back seat to Hardman on special teams in the punt returner role since last season.
If he’s called upon to assume primary punt return duties against the Raiders, however, there’s little doubt what Hill would bring to the table.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound speedster has totaled 1,009 career punt return yards and four touchdowns on 85 attempts, averaging 11.7 yards per chance. Regarded as one of the NFL’s most-explosive players in the open field, Hill garnered first-team All-Pro honors during his 2016 rookie season as a punt returner and received a second All-Pro selection at the “flex” position in 2018.
The Raiders know well what Hill can do as a returner. Of Hill’s four career punt returns for a touchdown, his first came as a rookie against the then-Oakland Raiders on an electrifying 78-yarder in Week 13 of the 2016 season.
Hill isn’t the only player on the Chiefs roster capable of returning punts. Toub pointed to a trio of potential returners in wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, cornerback Rashad Fenton and wide receiver Byron Pringle, who garnered an All-Big 12 honorable mention as returner at Kansas State in 2017.
“You never know which way we would go there,” Toub said. “But obviously Tyreek would probably be the No. 1 option.”
Meanwhile, there could be a balancing act for the Chiefs to consider if Hill takes on a return role. He enters Week 11 with 44 catches for 650 yards and a team-high nine touchdowns, so it might make sense to pull back some of his duties on offense, right?
Not so fast. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said the game plan will involve doing “whatever it takes” to secure a victory. If strategy calls for Hill pulling dual responsibilities on offense and special teams, so be it.
“I know this: Tyreek, he’s done it in the past,” Bieniemy said. “He understands the challenge that he’ll be facing and I’m actually kind of excited.
“What better opportunity for him to steal another moment of getting the ball and doing what he does? Hell, I’m going to get my popcorn, as well.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill likely ‘No. 1 option’ at punt returner if needed against Raiders."
