Dolphins coaches don’t subscribe to the notion of saving all starters from the hazards of special teams, meaning kickoff and punt return duties are Jarvis Landry’s job to lose.
“Jarvis is a frontrunner only because of the success he had last year,” special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi said. “We’re trying to develop a pool of guys. I think the more options you have, the better the team is going to be.”
Taking each of those points at a time:
Landry (Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)
Landry clearly is the team’s best kick returner. Last year, he returned 34 kicks for a 28.1 average and no touchdowns. Several times, he appeared on the brink of busting one for a TD only to be tackled by the last defender. But the fact he was able to average what he did without the benefit of one or two triple-digit returns is a testament to consistently giving Ryan Tannehill reasonable field position.
Landry ranked fourth in the NFL in kick returns and was named AFC special teams player of the month in October, when he averaged 35.6 yards.
Although not as threatening and steady on punt returns, Landry averaged 8.2 yards. No other player on the team returned a punt last season.
Among the players the Dolphins are experimenting with for return duties are LaMichael James, Christion Jones, Kenny Stills, Bobby McCain and even Brent Grimes. But everyone must take a back seat to Landry — even if he was the team’s leading receiver last year.
“There’s many starters in the NFL that are returners,” Rizzi said. “We’re got to decide down the road what the formula’s going to be. But for right now, you’d have to definitely say he’s the best at both until someone proves differently.”
