How about Kevin Norwood as a punt returner?

He reminds me a lot of Nate Burleson who was a damn good punt (and kick returner) in his time here. They are of similar size with Nate checking in at 6'0" and 198 pounds while Kevin is 6'2" and 199 pounds. Both have good hands which is important for securing the ball whether it's a fair catch or with the intention to run.

Nate's career has produced 156 punt returns for 1523 yards, a 9.8 yard per attempt average. His kick off return record is 57 attempts for 1286 yards, a 22.6 yard per attempt average.

In 2006 and 2007 when Burleson played in Seattle he returned 92 punts for 980 yards, or 10.7 YPA.

For a comparison, Golden Tate had 51 punt returns in 2013 for 585 yards, 11.5 yards per attempt. Some of those punt returns were phenomenal though and came at opportune times. So while we'll never be able to replace Tate's production as a punt returner, there's a good chance that one of the players currently on this team could be a great producer.

I hope Kevin Norwood gets that chance because I believe with his experience, great hands and clutch playing ability, he could be a find at that position.

People will dismiss the idea because Norwood only ran a 1.59 10yd/4.44 40yd. Fair or not, there is a perception that Norwood lacks explosive play making abilities.

At this time, it does seem they want an explosive, shifty 4.3-type guy back there: Harvin, Richardon, or Thomas over Norwood, Baldwin, or Sherman.

hawknation2014":39t21rz3 said:

People will dismiss the idea because Norwood only ran a 1.59 10yd/4.44 40yd. Fair or not, there is a perception that Norwood lacks explosive play making abilities.

At this time, it does seem they want an explosive, shifty 4.3-type guy back there: Harvin, Richardon, or Thomas over Norwood, Baldwin, or Sherman.

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to be fair in college he was never an explosive run after the catch type guy. Nate and Golden certainly were.

just not his skill set.

Clayton & Dfarrar777 touched on Norwood over the weekend. They agreed that Norwood would be one of the top 5 WRs on the team and be particularly important as that big bodied red zone threat (essentially spelling Sidney Rice). Farrar thinks Norwood will lead the team in touchdown receptions (which would be fricken amazing). While this may be a bit farfetched, I do believe he's far to valuable in this role to be put in the line of fire as a punt returner.

Elusive is a trait that you want in a punt returner.

What little I have seen of Norwood is he's not what I would call elusive.

Pete will figure it out. Let's see who steps up during the preseason.

Burleson had the benefit of being a standout track athlete while at O'Dea and speed relative to other players on the field was always big part of his game. He had experience returning kicks in college (more so his freshmen year). It looks like Norwood only returned a single kick-off his junior year in college. The PR duties are wide open and anyone could get it. Personally i think Baldwin will be our primary punt returner.

Norwood leading the team in touchdown receptions is absolutely possible if he gets on the field in red-zone packages. He is known for his catching ability in jump-ball situations.

Does Norwood have any punt return experience? That may be why he isn't a fit. I believe Jeremy Lane returned punts early in his career. Maybe if Simon overtakes him, Lane could be the PR guy. Lane is certainly fast enough and probably elusive too.

hawkfan68":1bpfyahd said:

Does Norwood have any punt return experience? That may be why he isn't a fit. I believe Jeremy Lane returned punts early in his career. Maybe if Simon overtakes him, Lane could be the PR guy. Lane is certainly fast enough and probably elusive too.

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1 kick return in college for 22 yards. No PR.

hawkfan68":wb4e5ota said:

Does Norwood have any punt return experience? That may be why he isn't a fit. I believe Jeremy Lane returned punts early in his career. Maybe if Simon overtakes him, Lane could be the PR guy. Lane is certainly fast enough and probably elusive too.

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Norwood returned one kick for 22 yards in 4 years at Alabama. He returned zero punts.

http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/pla ... ood-1.html