GREEN BAY − When you hear “Packers” and “special teams” together, it’s easy to think about Green Bay’s recent struggles with a carousel of underwhelming kickers. While the consequences of a poor kicking game and the potential future success of rookie kicker Trey Smack have been well-documented, the Packers’ struggles on kick and punt returns have for the most part flown under the radar.
The Packers have not been overly successful with returns in recent years, but their performance took a steep decline in 2025. They were ranked 23rd in kickoff-return average, and 32nd in punt-return average in 2025. The previous year, they ranked 19th in kick returns and 23rd in punt returns. Cornerback Keisean Nixon was largely responsible for 2024’s success, but he returned only one punt in the 2025 season.
Last season, Green Bay tried a array of kickoff returners. Among them were wide receivers Savion Williams, Bo Melton and Jakobie Keeney-James, running back Emmanuel Wilson and cornerback Nate Hobbs. On punt returns, it was receivers Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden and Romeo Doubs, and Nixon. Of those players, Wilson, Keeney-James, Hobbs and Doubs no longer are with the team.
Day 1 of Packers training camp this season suggested they were attempting to clean up the spots. Golden, Reed, wide receiver Will Sheppard, and newcomers Skyy Moore and Jaden Nixon all caught punts from Daniel Whelan. Kesian Nixon missed the first day of training camp with a hamstring issue.
Moore was among the free agents signed by the Packers in the offseason, seemingly for his return skills. He spent three years with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he returned five kickoffs and 14 punts. In 2025, he played for the San Fransico 49ers and averaged 27.5 yard per kickoff return and 11.6 yards per punt return.
“I never seen myself as a returner, and they made me do it,” Moore said of the Chiefs.
Sheppard was signed by the Packers in July 2025 as an undrafted free agent. He was released during final roster cuts in August and signed back to the practice squad and then to a future/reserve contract in January 2026.
As a punt returner during the 2023 college season at Vanderbilt, Sheppard averaged 9.9 yards per return. While he isn’t high on the depth chart as a wide receiver, Sheppard, like Moore, could make the team with a solid showing as a punt returner.
Jaden Nixon has a similar story, entering training camp as an undrafted free agent out of Central Florida. In his only season there, Nixon was an honorable-mention all-Big 12 kick returner, averaging 23.1 yards per return.
Nixon’s inclusion in early return practices is notable because of his size – 5-foot-10, 199 pounds. The Packers tend to have bigger receivers. The average size of a returner is 5-9, 183 pounds, according to an average from Pro Football Reference. Reed, the team’s smallest receiver is close to those margins at 5-11, 187 pounds.
Golden and Reed both took turns on punts last season, with Golden averaging 4.7 yards per return and Reed averaging 10.5.
“Special teams is definitely different than, you know, being on the offensive side of the ball,” Reed said, “It’s challenging, you know, especially if you’re new to it. So, yeah, just got to take a lot of reps to get good at it.”
It’s still much too early to know who will be the Packers’ returners this season. And it’s unclear if Sheppard and Jaden Nixon will even made the 53-man roster.
Moore said he was told his role would primarily be that of a returner, but in a news conference, coach Matt LaFleur said that while Moore has proven himself as a returner, he thinks there’s more out there for him with the offense.
Reed was a bit more unsure about his role. When asked if it had been communicated to him that he would be a primary punt returner in 2026, he said, “I haven’t got any clarity on that yet, but yeah, whatever the team need me to do, I’m up for it.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Packers aim to reform return game with newcomers like Skyy Moore
Reporting by Gabriella Hartlaub, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Gabriella Hartlaub, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
