Detroit Lions’ Jamal Agnew: One year wonder, or legit triple threat?

All-Pro punt returner Jamal Agnew will look to have another big season on special teams (and potentially in other areas) for the Detroit Lions.

It’s hard to say that any team got better value from a late round draft pick than the Lions with Jamal Agnew last year.

As a rookie, the fifth round choice out of the University of San Diego made an immediate impact on special teams. Agnew earned first-team All-Pro honors as a punt returner and gave tiny glimpses into other potential ways he could contribute to the team moving forward.

At this point, it’s anyone’s guess how Matt Patricia and the new coaching staff plan to use Agnew’s talent and skill set. In his rookie year, Agnew displayed speed, elusiveness, a nose for making plays, swagger, and a willingness to help out in a variety of ways.

Special Teams

Being a return man is a tough position to have sustained success in. With kickoffs slowly being phased out of the game, it’s more difficult now than ever.

This isn’t a knock on Jamal Agnew by any stretch, but his All-Pro selection was based mostly on two plays alone. A punt returner by nature just doesn’t have that large of a body of work, and breaking off huge returns depends on many different unpredictable factors.

Agnew’s ceiling in this area of the game would be that he does become a Mel Gray type: a dependable return specialist for years, and a three-time All-Pro. With that said, the more likely outcome (for any return specialist, not just Agnew), is the Stefan Logan/Eddie Drummond route. One breakout season, diminishing returns ever since, little to no impact in any other area of the field, and soon it’s on to the next.

For Agnew to carve out a little better job security in Detroit, he’ll likely need to be more than just a return specialist.

So then, is he more than just a return specialist?

Offense

Per Pro Football Reference, Agnew played offense for a dozen snaps last year. Though listed as a cornerback, the coaching staff experimented with getting him the ball from time to time. In these limited opportunities, the results were inconclusive. Agnew carried twice for nine yards and had two receptions for 18 yards on the year.

My interpretation of this is that Agnew was viewed by Jim Caldwell as the type of player who you need to find a place on the field for. The only problem was where to place him. In his brief offensive action, did Agnew show enough for this to be a continuing project?

In 2018, it’s possible that Agnew will continue to get a few more chances to have the ball in his hands. However, with his defensive background, it’s very unlikely to be a main focus. My optimistic scenario is that he’s a serviceable change of pace option that can be used for reverses and is dangerous enough to open other lanes up as a decoy.

Defense

The final question when it comes to finding a position for Agnew: how good of a cornerback could he be? After staying sidelined for nearly the whole season when the defensive unit came on, Agnew saw his first real reps during the final two weeks.

He got his first significant defensive time in the Cincinnati game, and then played nearly the entire way in the finale against Green Bay. Agnew held his own but was hardly facing Aaron Rodgers either.

Based on his draft spot, fellow 2017 rookie Teez Tabor was meant to be a future mainstay at cornerback. It remains to be seen whether he will get serious competition from Agnew at that position. Becoming a starter for the Lions this year seems like a long shot barring injury problems, but Agnew could definitely build on his finish to last season and play meaningful snaps in the defensive backfield.

One hit wonder, or legit triple threat?

What all this means, is that the 2018 season could go in many different ways for Jamal Agnew. He could stay right where he’s at as a go-to punt returner. He could rise in the depth chart and become a full-time cornerback, and potentially even get some chances as an offensive weapon.

Alternatively, Agnew could also fade as a return threat, disappear from the offensive playbook, and never get a tight enough grasp at his true position to make an impact. After a breakout rookie season, we’ll have to wait and see what the one they call ‘Swagnew’ has planned for his next act.