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NO New Orleans Saints · WR· #19 · also kick returner

Barion Brown

Age
22
Height
5'11"
Weight
177 lbs
College
LSU; Kentucky
Drafted
2026, No. 190 overall (NO)
Experience
Rookie
Compare with another playerPunt returners leaderboard

48

Overall grade

21st of 34 punt returners

Below typical

about average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Barion grades about average among punt returners so far, with no number far from the middle.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 4 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the punt returners in the league.

  • EPA per punt fielded+0.294th of 34small sample
  • Yards per return5.1 yds22nd of 24small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying punt returners. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among punt returners after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 1: 20th percentileWeek 2: 79th percentileWeek 4: 78th percentileWeek 5: 91st percentile91st

Season rank climbed: 20th to 91st percentile since Wk 1.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per punt fielded game by game
WeekOpponentThat gamepuntsSeason rank after
1vs DET−0.05520th pct
2vs BAL+0.65379th pct
4vs ATL+0.29278th pct
5vs MIN+0.59291st pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 3 punts can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every punt returner with at least 5 punts fielded. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per punt fielded

Elite

+0.29

4th of 34 punt returners · top 12%

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. From his team's side, for every punt he fields, fair catches included.

The box score: Return average ignores fair catches and the starting field position.

Does it show up in winning? Across 54 games league-wide, a good or bad game on EPA per punt fielded from a punt returner has not lined up much with his team winning (61% wins in the best third, 53% in the worst).

Last 2 games: +0.44 (4) vs +0.21 before+3.6grade points upWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 12 punts · true level likely −0.09 to +0.67

Yards per return

Among the weakest

5.1 yds

22nd of 24 punt returners · bottom 13%

Average yards when he returns the punt (fair catches excluded).

The box score: This is the box score number.

Last 2 games: 2.0 yds (1) vs 5.7 yds before

Small sample: could move a lot · 7 returns · true level likely 0.2 yds to 10.1 yds

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the punt returners around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Fair catch rate

Style

42%

Right around the middle of punt returners: a typical one is 41%.

How often he fair catches instead of returning, a choice about risk.

Small sample: could move a lot · 12 punts

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Barion Brown game by game
GameResultFieldedYdsEPA/puntYds/return
Wk 1 vs DETL 30–31521−0.055.3 yds
Wk 2 vs BALW 24–17313+0.656.5 yds
Wk 4 vs ATLL 24–4522+0.292.0 yds
Wk 5 vs MINL 13–2320+0.59–

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among punt returners. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Barion Brown box score totals
StatTotalRank
Punts fielded127th of 34
Return yards3623rd of 34

Players with a similar profile

The punt returners whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

As a kick returner

Points added and yards gained on kickoff returns.

The read

Barion grades about average among kick returners so far, with no number far from the middle.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 4 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the kick returners in the league.

  • Yards per return25.1 yds36th of 53small sample
  • EPA per return+0.1143rd of 53small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying kick returners. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among kick returners after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 1: 5th percentileWeek 2: 21st percentileWeek 4: 25th percentileWeek 5: 19th percentile19th

Season rank climbed: 5th to 19th percentile since Wk 1.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per return game by game
WeekOpponentThat gamereturnsSeason rank after
1vs DET−0.2135th pct
2vs BAL+0.56221st pct
4vs ATL+0.13525th pct
5vs MIN+0.11319th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 3 returns can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every kick returner with at least 5 returns. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per return

Well below typical

+0.11

43rd of 53 kick returners · bottom 21%

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. From his team's side, for each kickoff he returns.

The box score: Return average ignores the starting field position the team would have had anyway.

Does it show up in winning? Across 82 games league-wide, teams won 54% of the time when their kick returner was in the best third on EPA per return, and 30% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: +0.12 (8) vs +0.10 before+3.4grade points upWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 13 returns · true level likely −0.25 to +0.48

Yards per return

Below typical

25.1 yds

36th of 53 kick returners · bottom 34%

Average yards per kickoff return.

The box score: This is the box score number.

Does it show up in winning? Across 82 games league-wide, teams won 63% of the time when their kick returner was in the best third on yards per return, and 30% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 24.8 yds (8) vs 25.6 yds before−1.0grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 13 returns · true level likely 21.0 yds to 29.2 yds

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Barion Brown game by game
GameResultRetYdsEPA/returnYds/return
Wk 1 vs DETL 30–31355−0.2118.3 yds
Wk 2 vs BALW 24–17273+0.5636.5 yds
Wk 4 vs ATLL 24–455130+0.1326.0 yds
Wk 5 vs MINL 13–23368+0.1122.7 yds

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among kick returners. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Barion Brown box score totals
StatTotalRank
Returns136th of 53
Return yards3269th of 53

Players with a similar profile

The kick returners whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.

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