June 18, 2023
During the offseason, we'll be taking a close look at Philadelphia Eagles players of interest who are currently on the roster but we may not know a lot about just yet. Today we'll take a look at wide receiver/punt returner Britain Covey.
Previous player reviews
Olamide Zaccheaus | D'Andre Swift | Greedy Williams | Christian Elliss
Covey was the team's primary punt returner all season long after he eventually joined the active 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie free agent. He returned 33 punts on the season, which was tied for the second-highest total in the NFL, averaging 9.3 yards per return, which was good for 11th out of 21 players with at least 20 punt return attempts on the season.
Did I cut up all of Covey's punt returns on the season? Yes, yes I did. If you watch all of this, you might want to consider other more fulfilling hobbies to fill your time.
• Covey's rookie season got off to a bad start, as he had two fumbles and averaged 6.8 yards per punt return in the Eagles' first 10 games. However, the Eagles stuck with him and over the last 10 games (including the playoffs) Covey played well, averaging 13.3 yards per return with no fumbles.
| Britain Covey | Punt returns | Yards | YPR | Fumbles |
| First 10 games | 19 | 130 | 6.8 | 2 |
| Last 10 games | 16 | 213 | 13.3 | 0 |
Covey's best game came against the Titans when he had returns of 11, 20, 16, 27, 25, and 6 yards. He also had a good showing in the Super Bowl, returning two punts for 35 yards. In fact, 11 of Covey's 16 returns during the last 10 games of the Eagles' season went for at least 10 yards. He did a much better job of (a) getting the yards that were there instead of running horizontally, and (b) making the first guy miss.
• Covey took some huge hits as a punt returner last season, but he seemed to always pop right back up.
• Covey returned some kickoffs as a rookie as well. He was underwhelming, returning 10 kicks for 206 yards (20.6 yards per return). Expect the Eagles to take full advantage of the new rule that allows kick returners to call for a fair catch, which brings the ball out to the 25-yard line.
• Covey's listed position on the roster is as a wide receiver. He got into some games in blowouts, seeing 21 snaps in the regular offense in 5 games. Of course, the Eagles were just running out the clock in those games, so he did little more than block. Covey is the No. 3 slot receiver heading into camp, at best, behind Quez Watkins and Olamide Zaccheaus.
• Remember the game Arryn Siposs got hurt against the Giants and Covey filled in as the holder? Well just as a reminder, he's the backup holder and he did a good job in that game.
To put Covey's 13.3 yards per return over the last 10 games in context, the NFL's leading punt returner (minimum 20 punt returns) was New England's Marcus Jones, who averaged 12.5 yards per return. Covey was quietly effective and probably doesn't get proper recognition for his 2022 season because it started so poorly. If he can keep up the level of play that he showed during the back end of the 2022 season, Covey could be one of the top punt returners in the NFL in 2023, at least in terms of average yards per return, though he never really came all that close to taking one to the house as a rookie.
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader
