Redskins: Ranking the greatest kick returners in Washington’s history

Redskins Greatest Returners

13: Herb Mul-Key (1972-74)

In the Game Day program, his college was listed as “None.” And he had that strange hyphen in the middle of his name. But the fans loved Mul-Key and his blazing speed. Injuries would shorten his career, but what he did to poor Jim Bakken on this return will always bring a smile to older Redskins fans.

12: Brandon Banks (2010-2012)

If Steven Sims Jr. has another year like his first, he can join Banks as the only 21st-century Redskins return man on this list. But until someone new emerges, Banks is it. There have been some great individual plays from the likes of Santana Moss and Jacquez Green, but Banks has been the only truly electrifying regular returner the Redskins have had in over two decades. He replaced the very steady-but-boring Antwan Randle-El, and at barely 150 pounds, there was always the fear that he might break in two. But he was a threat for three years before eventually moving on to stardom in the Canadian League.

11: Bill Dudley (1950-1951)

Dudley was only the Redskins primary kick returner for one season, though he filled in during both the 1950 and 1953 seasons. He was better earlier in his career for other teams, but the future Hall of Famer was still a beast toward the end of his playing days, and his 96-yard punt return in 1950 still stands as the team record.

10: Larry Jones (1974-75)

The speedy wide receiver Larry Jones succeeded Mul-Key and was excellent for two years before injury took him down.

9: Dickie James (1956-1963)

The teams he played on were awful, but at least the diminutive Dickie James made it exciting to watch. He took over as the primary returner in 1959, and for the next five years, served as a bridge to the reemergence of dynamic offense in the mid-1960s.

8: Eddie Saenz (1946-1950)

If the elusive Eddie Saenz hadn’t shared return duties with Dan Sandifer for several of his years in DC, he might have ranked higher. Though he remained a dynamic presence for several more years, he never quite lived up to the promise of his 1947 season, in which he averaged 12.8 yards per punt return and 27.5 per kickoff, with two TDs.

7: Eddie Brown (1976-1977)

“Fast Eddie” Brown wasn’t very fast. But in 1976, he put together one of the best years a Redskins punt returner has ever managed, averaging 13.5 yards per return and scoring this great TD in the rain against St. Louis. He followed it up with another solid year in ’77 before being traded to the Rams.

6: Rickie Harris (1965-1970)

One thing you’ll notice about returners – most of them don’t hold onto their job very long. But Rickie Harris did. The Redskins were not very good in the mid-‘60s, and it’s possible that if they were better, Harris’ recklessness might not have served them very well. As it was, Harris was fun to watch. You never knew which way he might go.

3-5: Cliff Battles (1932-1938), Dick Todd (1939-1942), Andy Farkas (1938-1944)

This run of three giants from the Redskins’ first decade is pointless to try and rank. Battles was one of the greatest running backs in NFL history, and had he chosen to extend his career, he would be better known to fans. As it is, he’s a Hall of Famer. Dick Todd was among the best punt returners the league has ever seen, averaging more than 13 yards per return through his career, still a Redskins record. If his career hadn’t been interrupted by WWII, he would also be better known. And like Eddie Brown some 35 years later, Andy Farkas would prove speed wasn’t the key to being a great return man, and that vision and decisiveness mattered just as much.

2: Mike Nelms (1980-1984)

While we’re on the subject of decisiveness… I’ll say it plainly: Mike Nelms was one of my all-time favorite Redskins players. He was only an average kickoff returner, but when it came to punts, Nelms did something that seemed so simple, and yet managed to elude so many would-be tacklers. Nelms went forward. All the time. He was a classic one-cut-and-straight-ahead runner. Most punt returners talk about the need to make the first man miss. Nelms solved that problem by simply running through the first man. He did not have great speed, but he was fast enough to occasionally elude a tackler. It didn’t matter. He seemed to prefer to run through people. Some decent punt returners get the yards that are available. Nelms, in his heyday, always got more than the yards that were available. And he never, ever called a fair catch. Even if he did, it sure felt like he didn’t. That, as much as anything, endeared him to Redskin fans and made him an all-time great.

1: Brian Mitchell (1990-1999)

I thought about whether the obvious choice for No. 1 was the right choice. I didn’t think about it very long. Kenny Jenkins succeeded Mike Nelms and served as the primary returner for two years, and then a revolving door of different players took over for the rest of the 1980s. Names like Eric Yarber and Joe Johnson and Walter Stanley all tried their luck. Then came B-Mitch, and the job was secure for a decade.

Mitchell emulated Nelms in many ways. He had speed but was not a blazer. Instead, he was as tough as they come, and he went forward. Through the mid-‘90s, he put up outstanding numbers, especially on punts. His one major difference from Nelms was that Mitchell would call fair catches, which may account for why he was so good for so long. From Gale Sayers to Devin Hester, there have been a lot of brilliant, flashy return men, but Redskin fans will argue that B-Mitch deserves a spot right along with any of them.

Here’s hoping that some little-known young man currently on the Redskins roster forges a career that one day puts him in this company.