INDIANAPOLIS - The Colts may already know who they want returning punts and kicks against the Ravens. If they do, they’re keeping it quiet.
Special teams coordinator Brian Mason has a crowded list of candidates, and the final call on punt returner could shape the kickoff job as well. That’s the reality in the NFL’s new “dynamic kickoff,” a format that has pushed the return game back into the spotlight and forced teams to think carefully about who can handle which assignment.
Indianapolis has plenty of familiar faces in the mix. Wide receiver Josh Downs returned eight punts for 68 yards last season, good for an 8.5-yard average.
Ashton Dulin, meanwhile, was the Colts’ most dangerous kickoff returner, averaging a team-best 32.3 yards per return. That mark would have led the NFL if he had enough attempts to qualify.
Dulin has also been taking punts in practice.
But both players come with a catch: they’re needed elsewhere.
Downs is the starting slot receiver and played 37.2 snaps per game last season. Dulin usually sees between 10 and 15 offensive snaps a game, and that number could climb as the Colts try to limit the workload on 34-year-old Keenan Allen. That makes the return decision less about pure ability and more about managing bodies.
“Certainly, depending upon his offensive use, we’re going to try to use Ashton Dulin as much as possible,” Mason said. “As we’ve discussed, he’s one of the best special teamers in the NFL and one of the best returners in the NFL.”
The Colts also have Anthony Gould in the picture. A fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft, Gould led the team in both punt returns last season, with 13 for a 10.1-yard average, and kickoff returns, with 25 for a 25.9-yard average. He spent most of training camp injured and is now on the practice squad, though Indianapolis can elevate him for three games before making a permanent call on his role.
If Gould gets the nod Sunday, he likely won’t be limited to punts. The same logic applies to Davon Booth, the rookie running back Indianapolis picked up for the practice squad after he handled a few kickoff returns for Cleveland in the preseason.
“If we were to elevate somebody to be a starting punt returner, that somebody would then also be in the kick returner conversation, to make sure we’re getting more reps out of somebody that is elevated,” Mason said. “If that’s the direction we go.”
There are other names, too. Rookie receiver Deion Burks has worked at both return spots throughout camp, though his speed has been paired with shaky hands. Rookie running back Seth McGowan, the Colts’ No. 2 back behind Jonathan Taylor, has also logged plenty of work as a kickoff returner as the league’s new rules have changed the job.
“In the new kickoff model, I think we’ve discussed, it becomes a little bit of a rugby scrum and you’re seeing a lot of the guys that are having the most success in the new model are bigger runners, running backs,” Mason said. “Dulin has the size and speed to be able to run through a rugby scrum and break tackles. … The punt returner, traditionally, is more of the slot receiver, nickel back, traditionally, who can make people miss and have that quickness in a short area.”
For the Colts, this isn’t a small detail. One clean return can tilt a game. One mistake can do the same.
Indianapolis could use a few.
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