NFL

Fresh legs could bring new life to Giants’ shoddy return game

For the first time in what seems like forever, the Giants will put on the field a multitude of options in their return game when they report for training camp this month. A team that has often treated kickoff and punt returns as a defensive maneuver can now legitimately trot out several players possessing big-play potential.

The 2013 product was typically bland for the Giants, as they finished 26th in the NFL in punt returns, averaging 7.2 yards per return, and 27th in kickoff returns, averaging 21.2 yards. Rueben Randle, the primary punt returner, scored high marks in ball security but that was about it. Whether it was rookie running back Michael Cox or reserve receiver Jerrel Jernigan handling kickoffs, the result was often similar as both struggled to go anywhere after traversing about 20 yards of real estate.

There’s a new wave of returners on the scene as the Giants uncharacteristically added talent to specifically address this glaring need. Heck, they took to free agency to sign Trindon Holliday, a 5-foot-5 sparkplug whose only discernible skill is taking back kickoffs and punts. The signing of safety Quintin Demps comes with the added benefit of his wonderful ability on kickoff returns and the front-office types went gaga, waxing poetic about the way rookie first-round pick Odell Beckham Jr., a receiver, can change a game as a returner. There’s another addition of sorts, as David Wilson, after playing in only five games last season, appears primed to make a comeback following neck surgery; as a rookie in 2012 he was a dynamic kick returner.

“We have experienced guys that have been in this league, it’s always exciting,’’ special teams coordinator Tom Quinn said as last month’s mini-camp ended.

Holliday, then with the Broncos, returned a punt 81 yards for a touchdown against the Giants in the second game last season. The last time the Giants broke a punt return that long was 18 years ago. In his career, the pint-sized Holliday has averaged 27.7 yards on kickoffs and 9.2 yards on punts, with four returns for touchdowns. He has had a history of fumbling, though, and a continuation of that won’t be tolerated around Tom Coughlin.

Demps last year averaged 30.2 yards on 33 kickoffs for the Chiefs and in his career is at 27.4 yards. He’ll make the team as a reserve safety and it is difficult to believe he will not emerge as the primary kickoff returner.

“We’re real excited to have him,’’ Quinn said. “He’s been consistent in this league and explosive. He’s a legitimate number-one kickoff returner for us. He runs with good size and he has a real good understanding of the schemes.’’

Holliday is no lock to make the final roster. He will have to show something as a receiver — he was hardly used in that capacity (two career receptions) in his first two NFL seasons — unless Coughlin is willing to break with his tradition and reserve a roster spot for a player who is exclusively a returner.

There are a few unknowns here. Wilson was held out of contact drills during the spring, but the Giants anticipate he will receive medical clearance to participate in training camp after vertebrae-fusion surgery to repair a herniated disk. As a rookie he averaged 26.9 yards on 57 kickoff returns for a team-record 1,533 yards, including a 97-yard touchdown. Even if he’s declared good to go, it is uncertain if the Giants will expose Wilson, coming off neck surgery, to the rigors of the return game.

As for Beckham, Coughlin said the Giants “can certainly feature him’’ in the return game. And Beckham said returning punts “is one of the things I love doing most.’’ He averaged 26.4 yards on kickoffs and 8.9 yards on punts in 2013 for LSU.

“He’s explosive, he’s got legitimate speed and he runs, I think, pretty strong for his size,’’ Quinn said. “You put all of that together and it ends up being a good returner.’’

Putting a prize pick in the line of fire in the return game is always a risk and there’s also a good chance Beckham is heavily involved in the offense as a receiver, which might dissuade the coaching staff from giving him a steady diet as a returner.