The Vikings’ Surprise Contender for a Returner Job on Special Teams
If a game was played later on tonight, the Vikings would likely turn to Ty Chandler to handle kickoff returns and Jalen Nailor to jump in as the punt returner. Safe to say, though, that neither of those players are assured of those roles once September arrives.
In fact, the Vikings’ surprise contender for one of those jobs — Isaiah Rodgers as a kickoff returner — got mentioned by Kevin O’Connell as the recent Annual League Meeting. Per the head coach, Rodgers is someone who has speed to spare, making him an intriguing defender and special teams contributor. That reality opens the possibility of seeing the newcomer putting in work for a pair of coordinators, both of Brian Flores and Matt Daniels.
The Vikings’ Surprise Special Teams Candidate
The contract tells us a decent bit about Minnesota’s opinion of Rodgers.
The former Colt and Eagle was brought to town on a two-year deal that’s sitting at $11,045,000. So, medium money. The financial commitment reveals that he’s being looked at as more than mere depth, instead functioning as a legitimate option to soak up snaps at corner for Flores.
In fact, O’Connell basically confirmed as much. Or, at least, O’Connell confirmed the Vikings’ intent to give Rodgers a hearty workload on defense. The head coach described his DC’s desire to add the CB before commenting that he envisions a future with Isaiah Rodgers “being an every-down, impact guy.”
Rodgers is considered a frontrunner to become one of Minnesota’s top corners. However, there’s also a willingness to explore seeing him handle some return duties for Daniels’ special teams.
Send it back over to Coach O’Connell for the thought: “Speed, I think he’s got the ability to make plays on the football, he’s got some ability to do something with it when he does catch it. And whether he ends up being a part of the return game or not, is really going to just come down to how the rest of our roster shapes out.”
The coach’s reflections offer a couple of things to consider (note: I’m working under the assumption that O’Connell is talking about Isaiah Rodgers being a kickoff returner rather than a punt returner since that’s where most of the player’s experience rests).
First, there’s the reality that Isaiah Rodgers is very fast and someone capable of doing damage with the ball in his hands. His NFL career has involved 69 kickoff returns for 1,870 yards, working out to an average of 27.1 yards per return. He has scored a touchdown and has a career-high return that stands at 101 yards.
For context, Cordarrelle Patterson — one of the great special teams weapons in recent NFL history — has a career 29.0 yards-per-return average on kickoff while last season’s returner — Ty Chandler — comes in at a 25.2 yards-per-return average. Rodgers finds himself comfortably in the middle of those two returners.
The corner had 8 kickoff returns last season in Philadelphia, leading to 225 total yards. His most recent average thus sits at 28.1; his season-high for a single return was an explosive 51 yards.
Asking Rodgers to be both a starting corner and the team’s main kickoff returner is a tall order and yet it’s not entirely unrealistic. After all, he’ll get to come off the field after returning the kickoff since the offense will be jumping into action (assuming he doesn’t fumble). He could then have the chance to catch his breath before going back onto the field.
Isaiah Rodgers stands at 5’10” and weighs 170 pounds, he is 27, and he is being looked at as a dangerous weapon who should have the ball in his hands.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
