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Tennessee Titans early candidates for punt returner in 2019

By Michael Moraitis

JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 17: Adoree' Jackson #25 of the Tennessee Titans returns a punt deep in front of Brad Nortman #3 of the Jacksonville Jaguars during the second half of their game at EverBank Field on September 17, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 17: Adoree' Jackson #25 of the Tennessee Titans returns a punt deep in front of Brad Nortman #3 of the Jacksonville Jaguars during the second half of their game at EverBank Field on September 17, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images) /
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We have some insight as to who might be returning punts for the Tennessee Titans in 2019.

One of the questions that will be answered in the months ahead is: who will be returning punts for the Tennessee Titans this upcoming season?

It might seem a mundane question at this point in the offseason, but having a dependable punt returner is important, especially in close games where field position is key.

While Jim Wyatt of Titans Online says this spot has yet to be determined, he did give some insight as to who some of the possible candidates are when asked by a fan.

"Adam Humphries, Cameron Batson, Kalif Raymond, and Joseph Parker were the four guys back fielding punts in the final day of minicamp, and Adoree’ would have been if not for his injury. Amani was working on coverage teams, but as you mentioned, Aukerman mentioned him as a possibility. Jennings has proven to be more of a kick return specialist, but I think he’s capable."

The two biggest names that jump off the page at you is wide receiver Adam Humphries and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. While both are certainly capable, you’d like to see two of the key players for the Titans avoid returning punts to prevent risk of injury.

Humphries has a career yards per return average of 8.3 in 51 attempts and saw a career-low with 6.6 yards per in 21 returns in his final year with the Tampa bay Buccaneers. Jackson has a career mark of 8.8 yards per in 50 returns and posted a solid 9.3-yard average when handling the majority of punts for Tennessee in 2018.

Wide receiver Darius Jennings is also another possibility who was mentioned. Granted, he has never returned a punt, but he did have an impressive 94-yard kickoff return for touchdown last season.

Finally, we’ll take a look at the career punt return stats of some of the other candidates Wyatt mentioned:

WR Cameron Batson: 3 ATT, 4 YDS (1.3 AVG)

WR Kalif Raymond: 29 ATT, 210 YDS (7.2 AVG)

WR Joseph Parker (college): 7 ATT, 19 YDS (2.7 AVG)

S Amani Hooker (college): 1 ATT, 9 YDS (9 AVG)

Putting Humphries, Jackson and Jennings aside for now, one would assume Raymond’s experience gives him the edge over Batson and the two rookies, Parker and Hooker.

We shall see how it all shakes out in training camp.

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