While training camp is underway, most of the obvious roster positions are being focused on daily. One position that is often overlooked, yet significant, is the special-teams kick returner.
Last season, Brandon Codrington was brought into training camp in a trade. While he remains one of the greatest kick returners in the NFL, he will still have to compete for a backup spot as a corner.
As an undersized and swift corner, Codrington has been earning more reps at slot corner and will be competing with veteran Cam Lewis to perform duties as Taron Johnson's backup.
Codrington may be nasty as a returner, but his standing on the team might be in limbo because the Buffalo Bills signed Laviska Shenault, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars, this offseason. He is a veteran when it comes to kick returns. Therefore, if Codrington wants to be the Bills' kick returner this season, he'll have to show he can step up for the position.
3 surprising players who could take on the kick returner role
Ray Davis
Davis fits perfectly in the era of the dynamic kickoff. He is 5 feet 8 inches, 220 pounds, and has a low center of gravity when he runs the football. The intense running back has the ability to grab the football away from his body from a kickoff in pace, which gives the kickoff coverage unit a hard time tackling him.
Davis also has the perception to foresee blockers and defenders, which helps him battle through plays. Plus, he can learn how to do it this year while playing a bigger role at running back behind James Cook. It could save a spot on the Bills' roster if they move forward from Codrington.
Khalil Shakir
Shakir is another perfect candidate to return kicks. For starters, he has natural speed as a receiver, and he's shifty in the slot, which can make people miss with yards after the catch. He's also tall and has strong legs to help him avoid contact.
The 6-foot,190-pound wide receiver does have experience returning kicks when he was at Boise State University, and also has had to take Codrington's spot in the playoffs. In two NFL seasons, Shakir has tallied 14 kick and punt returns for 192 combined yards.
Back at Boise State, he returned 23 kick returns and seven punt returns as a three-year letterman.
Keon Coleman
If you want to continue to go with size and physicality, then Coleman is your man. The 6-foot-4-inch, 215-pound receiver would be exciting to watch and bring back some Iron Man football on special teams. There are very few receivers as physical as Coleman, who can also return punts, and looks like a bossman doing it.
Plus, he returned kicks in 2023 at Florida State. Coleman was a returning star, running back 25 punts for 300 yards. These stats earned him a first-team All-ACC selection as a returner, in addition to being a first-team ALL-ACC candidate as a wide receiver.
It may be Codrington's job to squander, but Davis, Shakir, and Coleman could all give him stiff competition, as they can play their natural positions and return kicks. But as of now, Codrington can only return kicks.
Let's watch throughout the preseason and see if either Codrington retains his job or if one of these players takes it from him to start the regular season.