Suddenly, kickoff returners matter again.
The NFL changed the kickoff rule this offseason to encourage more kick returns and fewer touchbacks. The inspiration for this change is Devin Hester, the legendary Chicago Bears kick returner who got inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year. Of course, the NFL remembered that kick returns are exciting and now the league is trying to bring them back.
Now the 49ers need a kick returner.
The past few seasons, their kick returner was Ray Ray McCloud, but he recently signed with the Atlanta Falcons. And he rarely returned kickoffs anyway. He mostly watched as they flew over his head. So who will replace him?
The 49ers could turn to Deebo Samuel who returned kickoffs in college, but it’s doubtful that they will play such an important, expensive player on special teams. Maybe he’ll be the kick returner in the playoffs, but probably not until then.
Which brings us to rookie running back Isaac Guerendo. He currently is fourth on the running-back depth chart behind Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason, so it’s unlikely the 49ers will give Guerendo any carries this year.
But they drafted him for a reason, and the reason could be to return kickoffs. He ran a 4.33 at The Combine, and the past two seasons he returned 30 kickoffs and gained 23.8 yards per return. He was respectable. And it’s possible the 49ers feel his skill set is a good fit for the NFL’s new kickoff rules.