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DET Detroit Lions · WR· #85 · also kick returner

Tom Kennedy

Age
30
Height
5'10"
Weight
194 lbs
College
Bryant
Drafted
Not drafted
Experience
8th NFL season
Compare with another playerPunt returners leaderboard

57

Overall grade

7th of 34 punt returners

Well above typical

above average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Tom grades above average among punt returners so far, with no number far from the middle.

Lately he is playing worse. EPA per punt fielded is +0.20 over the last 2 games (5 punts), against +0.29 before that. A few plays could easily explain this. Worth watching, not worth believing yet.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 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+0.257th of 34small sample
  • Yards per return13.2 yds8th 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: 90th percentileWeek 2: 89th percentileWeek 3: 84th percentileWeek 4: 66th percentileWeek 5: 82nd percentile82nd

Season rank slipped: 90th to 82nd 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 NO+0.50490th pct
2vs BUF−0.08289th pct
3vs NYJ+0.23284th pct
4vs CAR−0.16366th pct
5vs ARI+0.74282nd 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

Well above typical

+0.25

7th of 34 punt returners · top 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 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: +0.20 (5) vs +0.29 before−5.5grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 13 punts · true level likely −0.11 to +0.62

Yards per return

Above typical

13.2 yds

8th of 24 punt returners · top 34%

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

The box score: This is the box score number.

Last 2 games: 16.5 yds (2) vs 11.5 yds before

Small sample: could move a lot · 6 returns · true level likely 7.8 yds to 18.5 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

54%

Fair catches often, more than most 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 · 13 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.

Tom Kennedy game by game
GameResultFieldedYdsEPA/puntYds/return
Wk 1 vs NOW 31–30435+0.5011.7 yds
Wk 2 vs BUFL 31–4120−0.08–
Wk 3 vs NYJW 31–24211+0.2311.0 yds
Wk 4 vs CARL 26–3230−0.16–
Wk 5 vs ARIW 45–21233+0.7416.5 yds

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.

Tom Kennedy box score totals
StatTotalRank
Punts fielded135th of 34
Return yards798th 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

Tom grades below average among kick returners so far, with no number far from the middle.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 3 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

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

  • EPA per return+0.1440th of 53small sample
  • Yards per return23.9 yds43rd 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 2: 39th percentileWeek 4: 34th percentile34th

Season rank holding near the 34th percentile since Wk 2.

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 NO+0.101–
2vs BUF+0.24439th pct
4vs CAR−0.04234th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 2 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

+0.14

40th of 53 kick returners · bottom 27%

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: −0.04 (2) vs +0.21 before

Small sample: could move a lot · 7 returns · true level likely −0.36 to +0.64

Yards per return

Well below typical

23.9 yds

43rd of 53 kick returners · bottom 21%

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: 21.0 yds (2) vs 25.0 yds before

Small sample: could move a lot · 7 returns · true level likely 18.3 yds to 29.5 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.

Tom Kennedy game by game
GameResultRetYdsEPA/returnYds/return
Wk 1 vs NOW 31–30126+0.1026.0 yds
Wk 2 vs BUFL 31–41499+0.2424.8 yds
Wk 4 vs CARL 26–32242−0.0421.0 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.

Tom Kennedy box score totals
StatTotalRank
Returns730th of 53
Return yards16739th 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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