After three days of Packers training camp practices, it appears DuJuan Harris will be given an opportunity to win the kick returner job.
It’s way too early for anybody to get a sense of who has the advantage in contested position battles, but the thought of Harris returning kicks intrigues me in an old-school football sort of way.
Harris packs 200-plus pounds onto his 5-foot-8 frame and runs like a burning man sprinting for a nearby lake. A “rolling ball of butcher knives” was the phrase an NFL scout used to describe Harris in a Bob McGinn game review story a few years back.
I want to see Harris take a kick five yards deep in the end zone, build up a head of steam, and plow straight into the first guy who tries to tackle him. If Harris hits a pile of tacklers forming a wall to bring him down, my money is on the wall moving backward before Harris hits the turf.
The NFL has tried to make kick returns safer in recent years. To me, trying to tackle Harris after he’s been charging ahead for 15 yards seems anything but safe.
Harris is the type of player who will bring some violence to the Packers kick return unit and make people who remember what kickoffs were like 10, 15 or 20 years ago smile and nod their heads.
Of course, Harris is coming back after missing last season with a knee injury and various other ailments. Perhaps the promise he showed at the end of 2012 will be long gone.
The former used car salesman deserves a chance, though. With Eddie Lacy and James Starks slotted as the top two running backs, kick returns might be Harris’s best shot at carving out a significant role on this team.
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Adam Czech is a a freelance sports reporter living in the Twin Cities and a proud supporter of American corn farmers. When not working, Adam is usually writing about, thinking about or worrying about the Packers. Follow Adam on Twitter. Twitter .
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I like it a lot…
Been saying for months that Harris is the best KR prospect for the Packers. KR is different than PR, it takes more power to break arm tackles and also vision to see the running lanes and cutback opportunities. PR is all about making one defender at a time miss, its about elusiveness. Some overlap, but quite different.
Harris’s size and experience at RB make him the best KR option. Cobb and Hyde the best PR options. Would hate to see the Packers go for the #3 or 4 PR option like Abrederris. Assuming he can catch the ball well, Goodson would be a better PR than Abrederris.
I agree but it seems like a waste of his talents.
I love the Lacy/Starks 1-2 punch but hope that Harris sees a good deal of playing time at RB.