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How Jaydon Mickens Could Sneak onto Giants' Roster

The Giants need a new punt returner. Could Jaydon Mickens emerge sneak up and earn that role?

Joe Najarian

How Jaydon Mickens Could Sneak onto Giants' Roster
How Jaydon Mickens Could Sneak onto Giants' Roster /
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Jaydon Mickens, Wide Receiver

Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 170 pounds
2022 Stats: N/A
2021 Stats: GP 11/GS 0. 2 receptions, 10 yards, 0 touchdowns, one fumble. Fourteen punt returns, 136 yards, 13 kick returns, 302 yards.

Jaydon Mickens hasn’t seen any playing time with the New York Giants.

The 29-year-old signed with the practice squad on December 14, 2022, as a possible substitute for Richie James. At the time, James was New York’s primary punt returner but was dealing with a concussion.

Mickens was brought back with a reserve/future contract on January 22, 2023. Roughly three months later, James was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs, leaving a vacancy for the punt return role.

Could Mickens possibly fill that role?

Best Case Scenario

With James’ departure, Mickens is one of only three players with legitimate experience as punt returners; the other two are Adoree’ Jackson and Jamison Crowder. Jackson will probably not be the punt returner for 2023, as he was injured when trying to fill the role, which was a huge blow to the team’s defensive secondary.

Other than those three, the other candidates have very little experience. Another possible candidate is Kalil Pimpleton, who scored two touchdowns in his senior season in college but spent the entire 2022 season on the practice squad.

Mickens arguably has the most experience of all the candidates despite not playing last year, as he’s been a return specialist for his entire career and even won Super Bowl LV with the Buccaneers as their kick returner. His numbers as a returner are similar to Crowder’s, with an 8.4 return average on 69 punts, compared to an 8.2 on 95 punts for Crowder.

The best-case scenario for Mickens is to win and stabilize the punt return job. James was a liability in the role last year as he fumbled three punt returns, two of which came in the same game in Week 8 and were major factors in the Giants losing to the Seahawks. Considering Mickens’ experience in the role, the Giants likely won’t have the same problems they had with James.

Worst Case Scenario

While Mickens can return kicks and punts, he is rarely used as a wide receiver despite being listed as one. He has only 15 receptions for his entire career, although he has scored two touchdowns as a receiver. By comparison, Crowder has 415 career catches for 4,667 yards and 28 touchdowns, so by default, he is the more versatile player.

Mickens is also 29 years old while playing special teams almost exclusively, which also doesn’t bode well for his ability to serve in other roles, especially if he loses a step due to age or injury.

The worst-case scenario is if Mickens doesn’t get the punt return job, he could be considered expendable and could very well be cut by August.

What to Expect in 2023

If the Giants don’t cut Mickens, expect him to remain on the practice squad. Crowder not only brings similar value as a punt return specialist but also has utility as a slot receiver, and Kalil Pimpleton has possibly the highest upside as a punt returner.

However, Mickens’ experience as a punt returner may be why the Giants chose to sign him to a reserve/futures contract. If the punt return role becomes a liability like it did last year, Mickens could be brought up to the active roster and stabilize the situation.

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Joe Najarian
JOE NAJARIAN

Joe Najarian, a Rutgers University graduate, covered Rutgers Football and Rutgers Baseball during an eight-month stint with Jersey Sporting News (JSN).

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