Where’s the second coming of Rick Upchurch when the Broncos need it?
Denver desperately needs more of a spark in the return game Sunday in Atlanta, and throughout the second half of the season, to give the team an added edge in the hunt for a wild-card spot.
The Broncos rank seventh in punt return average at 11.3 yards, but 28th in kick return average at 17.7 yards. More importantly, the team hasn’t had a punt return for a touchdown since Nov. 8, 2015 (Omar Bolden in Week 8 at Colts, 83 yards), or a kick return for a touchdown since Sept. 29, 2013 (Trindon Holliday in Week 8 vs Eagles, 105 yards).
During Vic Fangio’s tenure, Diontae Spencer has been the main returner, but he’s yet to take a return to the house while averaging 9.1 yards/punt return and 26.6 yards/kick return. Sidelined the past couple of games with a shoulder injury, Spencer is also expected to miss Sunday’s game against the Falcons, Fangio said.
Since Spencer’s been out the Broncos have leaned on cornerback Bryce Callahan (one punt return for 8 yards) as well as rookie wideouts KJ Hamler (one kick return for 18 yards, one punt return muff) and Tyrie Cleveland (two kick returns for 36 yards). Spencer’s career-long kick return is 60 yards, and he also had a 41-yard punt return this year, a yard shy of the 42-yard career mark he set last season.
Broncos special teams coordinator Tom McMahon said Callahan and Hamler will continue to share the punt return duties in Spencer’s absence, and that in the kick return game Cleveland brings “some speed and he’s got some size.” And McMahon said that right now, touchdowns aren’t the top priority in the punt return game.
“When we put Bryce out there, the biggest thing we’re trying to do is, we’re trying to catch that football,” McMahon said. “With his value on defense, we’ve got to get the ball caught. The week before (against Kansas City), with the drop KJ had, that scared us a bit but it’s one of those things where he’s got to get back there and take reps. (Hamler’s) a second-round pick and he’s got talent… He’s going to get those opportunities sooner rather than later.”
However, McMahon acknowledged the lack of touchdown punch in the return game overall has been problematic.
“We’ve got to do a better job,” McMahon said. “We’ve got to score and put points on the board.”
In 2019, McMahon’s first year on the job, the Broncos ranked 12th in punt return average (7.7) and third in kick return average (25.4). Not bad, but McMahon lamented the missed blocks and/or failed jukes that kept the Broncos from finding the end zone on a return.
“In the kick return game, the biggest thing is you’ve got to get the safeties blocked,” McMahon said. “Last year, we had seven returns of over 30 yards on the kick return, and we were one of the top returns in the league in kick return yardage, but we should’ve had three touchdowns.
“From a punt return standpoint, we’ve got to break tackles and we’ve to finish that last block. Bottom line is, you’ve got to get the last player blocked. Or, you’ve got to get (the last) guy to miss a tackle. We haven’t been able to do that the last two years I’ve been here.”
Upchurch (1975-83) is Denver’s franchise leader with eight punt return touchdowns, while Holliday is tied with Goldie Sellers for the team record for kickoff return touchdowns with two. Both of Sellers’ house calls came in 1966.
— Kyle Newman, The Denver Post
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