For the final 30 days leading up to the start of Seattle Seahawks training camp, we will be counting down the 30 most important players on the roster heading into the 2019 season.
There’s a chance that our 26th ranked player, J.D. McKissic, is largely irrelevant for the Seahawks next season. There’s even a chance he gets cut, with multiple talented running backs and wide receivers around him.
However, there’s also a chance that McKissic ends up as the team’s primary kick and punt returner in 2019, which is why he shows up near the bottom of this list.
The Seahawks made it clear that they’d like to transition star receiver Tyler Lockett away from returning kicks and punts, and instead have him focus on his new duty as the team’s No. 1 wideout.
Lockett was the team’s only punt returner last year, and he also took 19 of the team’s 29 kick return opportunities, so taking him out of that role completely would be a dramatic shift for the Seahawks.
However, if that’s the direction they want to take, McKissic is the clear front-runner to handle return duties for the Seahawks in 2019.
“J.D McKissic has always been one of the guys we’ve liked putting back there,” coach Pete Carroll commented during minicamp. “He can catch punts and kickoffs. That’s the first guy we think of so that would be the guy we go to.”
McKissic only returned one kick last year, which went for 18 yards, but he has been working out at that spot over the offseason, and is clearly Carroll’s top choice at the moment.
Of course, the Seahawks will have multiple other players competing with McKissic to return kicks, including Keenan Reynolds, David Moore, Amara Darboh and even safety Ugo Amadi.
While McKissic will have a hard time carving out a role in the offense next season, he could still have a big impact on this team by handling kick and punt return duties.
Not only would that give him an important role on the special teams, it would free up one of their most important offensive weapons, Tyler Lockett, allowing him to focus on being a receiver.
