Opportunistic Jalen Reagor bringing a welcome spark to the Patriots’ return game

The New England Patriots had to wait five years, but on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills they finally ran a kickoff return back for a touchdown. On the very first play of the team’s eventual 27 21 loss, Jalen Reagor found an opening in Buffalo’s coverage unit and after breaking a tackle attempt took the ball 98 yards for a score.

For the Patriots, this touchdown was several weeks in the making. After they originally started the season with Ty Montgomery as their designated kickoff returner, they handed the reins over to Reagor by Week 13. He had a rough start, muffing his first attempt at a runback against the Los Angeles Chargers , but has shown some encouraging upside ever since.

He entered the game against the Bills with a post Chargers average of 28 yards per runback and also had a 46 yard return against the Kansas City Chiefs called back due to penalty. No infractions were found against the Bills, and Reagor was finally able to take one to the house. It was the first kickoff return touchdown of his career, and his first touchdown overall in 14 months.

“I’m just making the most of my opportunities,” Reagor said after the game. “We’re all just doing our 1/11th. I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do, which is running fast and, as they call it, running through the smoke. I saw a hole, and I hit it. That’s the thing, you can’t [not] be fearless — you just run through there.” A former first round draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles , who found limited success as a wide receiver and return man over his first three seasons in the NFL, Reagor joined the Patriots in late August.

Following his release by the Minnesota Vikings , with whom he had spent the 2022 season, he signed a practice squad deal in New England. Reagor saw action in two games as a game day elevatee before officially getting added to the 53 man roster in late October. Since then, he has appeared in eight more games.

While his contributions as a pass catcher remain limited — he has caught just six of his 16 targets for 105 total yards — he has brought a welcome spark to New England’s return game. Visit NESN for more Patriots coverage This Fair Question Clearly Angered Bill Belichick After Patriots Loss Bailey Zappe Made This Promise After Throwing Three Interceptions Bailey Zappe Opens Up On Mac Jones Relationship After TD Celebration Why Patriots Great Blamed Receiver For Bailey Zappe Pick Six “Jalen’s done a good job for us,” acknowledged head coach Bill Belichick.

“Been close on a couple, hit that one. Ran over [Tyler] Bass, finished the run, took it the last 60 yards. Good job, good blocking to get him started. It was kind of like the Kansas City game, came out of there but that one got called back on a penalty. But we’ve got a couple of good seams. He’s done a good job of hitting them and running through some arm tackles.” As Belichick pointed out, every kickoff return also is testament to the blocking up front.

For Reagor, it was very much perfect on that one play against the Bills. But while he was able to exploit a seam, he still had to finish the job — including spinning into, and out off, the Bills’ last line of defense. Him making his way around kicker Tyler Bass looked spectacular, but it was nothing out of the ordinary for the 25 year old.

“It was just training, contact balance,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m playing football my whole life, so that’s not the first time I’ve been hit. Just running and being aggressive, and like Coach said not looking to go down. ... My whole thing was just not to go down, and if I do, at least try to get some yards as I go down.” Reagor will be back returning kickoffs for the season finale against the New York Jets on Sunday.

What comes afterwards for the soon to be free agent remains to be seen, but he is doing a solid job putting himself in a good position. Just look at it from this perspective: of the 41 players to return at least six kickoffs this season, nobody has a higher average than Reagor’s 34.3 yards. The small sample size does work in his favor, but he might have shown enough for the Patriots to give him another opportunity.

Of course, Reagor is aware that production always comes at a cost in the return game. “If a team knows that you’re a good returner, they’re not going to kick it to you,” he said. “Some teams, for example Cordarrelle Patterson, the coach may tell him to just stay in the back of the end zone.” Cordarrelle Patterson was the last Patriot to return a kickoff return for a touchdown, a fitting reference from Reagor.

And if he can develop into a similar presence in the return game, he would be an asset for New England — even without actually touching the ball a whole lot..