The Baltimore Ravens had two rookies do the heavy lifting at punt returner for them during the 2020 season. Wide receivers Devin Duvernay and James Proche II were asked to return punts, and both did an admirable job. Proche started the year having full ownership of the duties, but when active roster space became harder to come by, Duvernay took over towards the very end of the year.
When asked about the pair and the decision of who gets to return puts this season for Baltimore, special teams coordinator Chris Horton said that he trusts both players and thinks both can have success for the Ravens on the special teams side of things.
“I think it’s all comfort level, and I trust both of the guys. I think any guy we call upon will go out and get the job done, but it’s [better] to have two than not have any. We’ve got two guys that are, still, again, fairly young, but they can go out, [and] you trust them catching the football. I think both of those guys, as we move forward, will have success for us.”
In 2020, Duvernay averaged 11.5 yards per punt return on four returns, while Proche averaged 8.6 yards per return on 23 returns. Both players are capable of taking big steps forward as punt returners, and it will be interesting to see who Baltimore puts out at the position in Week 1 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
