'Carl Eller said:
'Just Win Baby said:
If Dez returns punts, that will likely impact his receiving numbers, at least slightly. Are there any examples of top 10 fantasy WRs who returned more than a trivial number of punts?
It's not the norm, but it does happen....
every year you can find at least one top punt returner that is a top 20 WR. Last year it was Antonio Brown. Wes Welker had for many years returned punts and ranked in the top 10-20 for punt return yards still being a top WR in the NFL. Here's the list over the last 6-7 years of top 20 punt returners that were also elite/above average WR's:
Steve Smith
Wes Welker
DeSean Jackson
Santonio Holmes
Antonio Brown
Were their WR numbers hurt by returning punts? I'd say maybe or lean towards slightly. If I were a Dez owner, I'd be worried more about Dez getting injured in punt duty than decreasing his productivity on offense.
Consider how the WRs you identified ranked in seasons in which they returned 31+ punts:Smith: WR115 (2001), WR42 (2002), WR15 (2003)
Welker: WR87 (2005), WR57 (2006)
Jackson: WR29 (2008)
Holmes: WR41 (2006), WR38 (2008)
Brown: N/a (no such seasons)
How they ranked when they returned 16-30 punts:
Smith: WR1 (2005)
Welker: WR11 (2007), WR21 (2008), WR12 (2009)
Jackson: WR4 (2009), WR14 (2010), WR27 (2011)
Holmes: N/a (no such seasons)
Brown: WR130 (2010), WR24 (2011)
I believe 16 punt returns is the qualifying threshold for NFL leader boards. I showed the split at 30 punt returns since there is such a contrast in WR production with usage above and below that threshold.
You have stated you think Dez will be top 10, maybe top 5 this year. I don't know if we're missing any others, but this data shows only 2 instances of a top 10 (and top 5) WR returning 20-30 punts and no instances of a top 10 WR returning more than 30 punts.
This data seems to disprove your bolded statement above, since it identifies only 4 seasons in which a top 20 WR has returned 20-30 punts.
How much is Dallas going to use Dez on punt returns? If they plan to use him a lot, I don't think it bodes well for his fantasy production.