Kene Nwangwu May Need To Prove He Can Be More Than Just A Kick Returner
Cole Smith
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The Minnesota Vikings running back room will likely look a lot different in 2023. Alexander Mattison is set to be a free agent, and Dalvin Cook is set to have a cap hit just over $14 million, according to Spotrac. Whether being jettisoned by trade or being straight up released, it doesn’t feel as if Cook will be back after an up-and-down 2022 season.
If both players left, the natural replacements for them would be 2022 fifth-round pick Ty Chandler and third-year kick returner Kene Nwangwu. Chandler impressed during his rookie preseason campaign. Nwangwu has already returned three kickoffs for touchdowns in his first two seasons. His 4.29-forty speed has been on display for all three returns. The natural progression would be to have that translate into the offense, right?
However, that may not be the case in 2023. Nwangwu hasn’t gotten on the field much with the offense. In fact, outside of returning kicks, Nwangwu began to get phased out of all the other special teams units as the season wore on. With his limited role with two separate coaching staffs, the question may not be if Nwangwu split carries in 2023; the question could become “Is Nwangwu’s limited role worth taking up a roster spot?”
Kene Nwangwu In 2022
Let’s make one thing clear here. This isn’t being written to slam what Nwangwu has done in the kick return game. In 2022, he returned 35 kicks for 920 yards and one touchdown during the regular season. This came off of 98 total kicks, so he was only returning kicks 35.7% of the time. 13 NFL teams were kicking touchbacks at least 64% of the time in 2022, so his return rate wasn’t far off of the league average. In other words, he could be dangerous while returning, but teams weren’t avoiding him like Devin Hester in his prime.
While Nwangwu was able to provide the kick return game with a spark, he wasn’t a main contributor on the other special teams units after Week 11. He had only 11 plays on the other units in the final seven games of the regular season, only receiving one play from Weeks 12-16. In total, he played 62 special teams plays that didn’t include himself at kick return.
Compare this with cornerback Kris Boyd, who played primarily special teams. Boyd was on the field for 96 kick returns during the regular season. With those returns excluded, Boyd still saw action on 302 special teams plays over the course of the year, tallying eight tackles and helping force turnovers in big spots.
Despite his speed and athleticism, Nwangwu didn’t see much time on offense. He saw only nine carries for 14 yards and added two receptions for 21 yards. Cook may have made the Pro Bowl, but the team’s overall rushing success was lagging in 2022. The unit ranked 27th in the entire NFL and only had two runners top 100 yards. This didn’t build on Nwangwu’s rookie campaign where he carried 13 times for 61 yards and caught four passes for nine yards.
How Did the Championship Teams Fare At Kick Returner?
You won’t find many stars at kick returner when looking at the four teams that played in the conference championship games last week. San Francisco 49ers receiver Ray-Ray McCloud’s longest return was only 53 yards. But he only averaged 1.4 yards fewer per return than Nwangwu. McCloud also doubled as the 49ers’ punt returner. The Vikings had to send a fourth-round pick in this year’s draft to acquire Jalen Reagor to handle the team’s punt return duties.
Running back Isaiah Pacheco, the Kansas City Chiefs’ seventh-round rookie, served as the team’s primary kick returner. His impact there was modest, but his impact was felt in the running game. He ran for a team-leading 830 yards on 170 carries (a 4.9-yard average) and five touchdowns.
After receiver Britain Covey began the season as the Philadelphia Eagles’ kick returner, running back Boston Scott took over the duties in Week 11. He averaged 27.1 yards per return while still contributing to a running game that consists of Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, and Jalen Hurts.
And finally, the Cincinnati Bengals began the season with running back Chris Evans handling the return duties. He hurt his knee in Week 9 and didn’t return kicks the rest of the season, but he still contributed on all special teams. His replacement, running back Trayveon Williams, averaged 22.3 yards per return to finish the season. Williams would contribute on 95 other special teams plays in the season’s final seven games.
Is A Pure Kick Returner Worth A Roster Spot In 2023?
With only 35 returns on the season, along with one touchdown, in 2022, the question has to be asked: is a guy who is really good at kick returns, and maybe not much else, worth taking up a roster spot in today’s NFL? Although Nwangwu was mixed into the Vikings’ other return and coverage units, his role in those was phased out for over a month during the season. It wasn’t until the team began to monitor snap counts for starters in the final few weeks that Nwangwu returned to those other phases in special teams.
As far as the offense goes, it’d be hard for someone on the outside to say that Nwangwu has no chance of contributing in 2023. But he was drafted in the fourth round in 2021, and Mike Zimmer’s staff wasn’t exactly going out of its way to get him on the field. Many expected Kevin O’Connell, an offensive-minded coach, to get Nwangwu on the field more in 2022. His touches actually went down under O’Connell. So right now, if I had to guess, it’s probably tough to imagine a running back is going to make a huge leap in Year 3 when there wasn’t much stopping him before.
However, there is a chance that Nwangwu gets more of a chance on offense just by default in 2023. If Cook and Mattison are gone, the Vikings don’t have to feel the need to give carries to a guy because he is beloved in the locker room and is owed a ton of money. The Vikings offense is built around Justin Jefferson. Perhaps Nwangwu is capable of just being another running back in 2023, taking a few touches per game while the offense focuses on airing the ball out.
If he can contribute, even adequately in the offense, then there shouldn’t be any question on whether Nwangwu’s roster spot is warranted in 2023. Even if the Vikings can get him back onto the field for other special teams units, that would show his versatility. But with the NFL doing all it can to phase kickoffs out of the game, is it worth keeping him around if that’s all that he can do, even if he does that one thing really well?
Editor’s Note: Pro Football Reference and Pro Football Focus were used for stats.
