In his vivacious press conference at the Cleveland Browns training facility at Wednesday’s OTA session, new special teams coordinator Mike Priefer identified four players who are competing to win the primary return specialist role.
Priefer mentioned wide receivers Antonio Callaway and Damon Sheehy-Guiseppe as well as running backs Dontrell Hilliard and D’Ernest Johnson as the four players he’s eyeing to handle the return duties. Jabrill Peppers served as the primary punt and kick returner in 2018, but he’s now a New York Giant after being traded in the Odell Beckham Jr. deal.
Callaway and Hilliard both got limited experience in their rookie campaigns last fall. Callaway returned 5 punts for 61 yards, while Hilliard handled 11 kickoffs and netted 24 yards per attempt, over two yards better than Peppers. Sheehy-Guiseppe set return records at the JUCO level, while Johnson had some success in college at South Florida running back punts and kicks.
