Who Will Be The Chargers Return Specialists?

Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

We just brought in all these guys with the specialty of returning kicks. This offseason we have added Eddie Royal, Roscoe Parrish and Micheal Spurlock onto the roster. We also already had Richard Goodman on the team. Who will be returning punts and who will be returning kickoffs? This should be one of the fun battles to watch in camp.

Let’s start out with the career kickoff return numbers for each player.

I see the battle for kickoff returns coming down to just Spurlock and Goodman. Parrish does not have a lot of experience in it and I don’t think that the Chargers want to expose Eddie Royal to kickoffs. Spurlock has more experience returning kicks and he was the specialist when Rich Bisaccia was the special teams coach in Tampa. Goodman did well last season and will have to fight to keep his job.

Now let’s check out the career numbers for punt returns:

Goodman won’t be competing for the punt return job, but the other 3 guys will. The Chargers might not want to limit Royal’s punt returns also to keep him fresh for offense. Parrish is the most experienced at the role and has the best numbers. Spurlock’s ability to contribute in punt returns also could give him an advantage over Goodman.

Four wide receiver spots are locked down and Eddie Royal will be making the team. We probably will go with 5 total, but could push that up to 6.

Who are you rooting for to be the kickoff returner and the punt returner?