It is no secret the San Francisco 49ers have struggled with special teams this season. Honestly, this is an issue that dates back a few years.
The Niners need to rely on two veterans to ensure they do not beat themselves with special teams.
That is why San Francisco should make wide receiver Deebo Samuel a permanent kick returner and fullback Kyle Juszczyk their primary punt returner.
The main reason for this is the current returners simply are not reliable enough. Running back Isaac Guerendo fumbled a kickoff return to begin the second half against the New England Patriots in Week 4. Thankfully, it did not cost the 49ers the game, but against a better opponent, a mistake like that can make all the difference.
In the same game, the Niners lost their primary punt returner, wide receiver Jacob Cowing due to injury. The team’s Swiss Army knife, Juszczyk, who can play fullback, running back, tight end, wide receiver, and even serve as a holder for field goals, stepped up to return a punt in the third quarter for roughly 9 yards.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about that earlier this week, and he said they told Juice he could just fair catch the ball, but Juszczyk wanted to return it to prove he can be valuable in that role as well.
The life of an NFL fullback is making yourself useful any way that you can.
While the veteran is certainly not what you’d typically expect from a punt returner, he has a sure pair of hands which is what the Niners need back there. Cowing has already put the ball on the ground this year. With the next few games against two NFC West opponents meaning a lot for potential playoff implications, the Niners cannot afford to let a costly special teams error be the difference between winning and losing.
Sure, you do run the risk of injuring two key players by having them out there returning kicks. But if Juszczyk just fair catches most of his punts, that is still valuable. Plus, with Samuel being out there to return, many teams will opt to just kick it through the back of the end zone and give the ball to San Francisco on the 30-yard line rather than risk Deebo taking it to the house.
There are risks to this strategy, but they are necessary given how much of a sore spot special teams has been for San Francisco this year.
Let’s hope Shanahan makes these changes ASAP.
