Cordarrelle Patterson just become the first player to be named a first-team All-Pro returner by the Associated Press for the fourth time in his career. Patterson is on the Mount Rushmore of all time great returners, as he has dominated this era of kickoff returners in outlandish fashion. And he continues to rack up the postseason honors to go with his tremendous return averages, even if it come with a bit of an asterisk.

The Associated Press began naming an All-Pro kickoff returner in 1976; despite the name, it’s far from clear whether the voters drew a distinction between punt and kickoff returns. ^[1]In 2011, Patrick Peterson received the most votes of any kickoff returner, and he was therefore the first-team All-Pro selection. Only problem: Peterson, who had a magnificent year as a punt … Continue reading That was due in large part to some great returners beginning to enter the league. The previous year, Cardinal Terry Metcalf set an NFL with 2,462 all-purpose yards, and he ranked 3rd in punt return average and 2nd in kickoff return average. In Houston, Billy Johnson, of white shoes fame, had three punt returns for a touchdown in 1975. Pro Football Weekly named Johnson as its All-Pro returner that year, and beginning in ’76, the AP followed suit with a special slot dedicated to kickoff returners.

In the inaugural year, Denver’s Rick Upchurch earned first-team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press; that would happen two more times in his career. In the ’90s, Mel Gray also earned 3 first-team All-Pro returner nods from the Associated Press, and Devin Hester (’06, ’07, ’10) would later become the third player to earn three such honors. [continue reading…]