The NY Giants kick returning game has mostly been a revolving door over the last few years; could UDFA Javon Leake finally give the team the electric kick returner they’ve been longing for?
I’ve been spending a decent amount of time this offseason profiling NY Giants undrafted free agent runningback, Javon Leake, and for good reason. Leake is an electric prospect who brings game-breaking ability every time he steps on the field.
He didn’t get much of a chance to showcase his skills while at Maryland as he was stuck behind 2020 fourth-round draft pick, Anthony McFarland. Still, when his number was called he averaged a robust 7.9 yards-per-carry and an unheard-of touchdown for every 8.5 carries.
The good news for Leake is, the NY Giants won’t even need much out of Leake in the runningback department in his rookie season (should he make the team, which I think he will). Wayne Gallman appears to be on his way out barring some unforeseen circumstances and I expect Leake to step right to his role as the third back.
The tiebreaker between the two might come down to Javon Leake’s dynamic kick returning ability, as he was a total game-breaker at Maryland in that regard.
Who will be his potential competition?
Last year, the NY Giants didn’t possess an elite kick returner and the position was basically a revolving door. The only two players who received more than 10 kickoff return attempts were wideout Cody Latimer and cornerback Corey Ballentine.
Both had middling results, at best, averaging 23.8 and 25.6 yards-per-return while scoring no touchdowns. To their credit, they did at least get loose for one 50 yard return a piece.
However, with all due respect, that pales in comparison in terms of what Javon Leake could possibly bring to the table with his lightning speed and quickness.
We see you, Javon Leake.
— Lila Bromberg (@lilabbromberg) October 5, 2019
100 yard kick return for the Terps' touchdown. It's his second TD of the day. pic.twitter.com/r5Voh8W14Q
In his junior season alone (his final with Maryland), Leake racked up 804 return yards on 30 attempts – good for a 26.8 average to go along with two touchdowns. He also scored another return touchdown as a sophomore in 2018.
One dark horse to challenge Leake will be wideout Corey Coleman, coming off of a 2019 ACL injury, as the former first-round pick put together a solid campaign as the team’s 2018 return man as he racked up almost 600 return yards and a 26.0 average over just 8 games.
Coleman’s results were good enough for the team to give him one more shot for the 2020 season.
With his abilities as a cut runner and his field vision, Javon Leake just might end up being the stable kick returner this team has been yearning for for quite some time.