Mark Craig: Competition among receivers has kick returns as component

West Virginia's No. 1 kick returner in 2006 was a guy named Antonio Lewis. He also played cornerback, which means he was pretty much pooped when it came time to return kicks.

"Against Maryland, he got too tired one time," said Vikings rookie free agent Darius Reynaud. "So the coaches started looking around for someone else."

Reynaud had played running back and receiver at Hahnville (La.) High and West Virginia.

But, as he says, "I never returned a kickoff in my life." Until that day.

The Terps kicked off. Reynaud set himself under the ball.

"He dropped it," said Vikings backup center Dan Mozes, also a former Mountaineer. "The ball hit him in the chest and hit the ground. And everybody on the sideline kind of looked away."

But the ball bounced straight up. And Reynaud grabbed it on the run.

A kick returner was born. His 26.8-yard career kick return average ranks second in school history. And his 12 touchdown catches last year as a junior tied him for the school record set by Chris Henry in 2004.

"I did all I could do at West Virginia," Reynaud said. "So I went to the NFL."

In his NFL debut, Reynaud averaged 36.3 yards on three kickoff returns, including a 53-yarder in his first pro touch, as the Vikings lost to Seattle 34-17 in a preseason opener at the Metrodome on Friday night.

Then there's Jaymar Johnson, another Vikings rookie receiver/returner. He was sitting next to Reynaud in the Vikings' locker room Friday night.

Johnson went to Jackson State, a much smaller school. But Johnson is a draft pick. Actually, he's more than the average sixth-round draft pick considering he's the last link to the Randy Moss trade.

The Vikings traded Moss to Oakland in 2005. They got linebacker Napoleon Harris, the seventh overall pick in the draft and a seventh-round pick in return.

The seventh-rounder, cornerback Adrian Ward, never made the team. Harris left via free agency after two forgettable years. The seventh overall pick, Troy Williamson, was a bust. The Vikings, however, unloaded him on Jacksonville for the 193rd overall pick, which became Johnson.

The Vikings need depth at receiver, a punt returner and a kickoff returner. Coach Brad Childress indicated the team will keep between four and six receivers. They kept five last season.

Three receivers -- Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade -- are locks. Aundrae Allison is the frontrunner at No. 4 and at punt returner. Reynaud, Johnson and veteran Robert Ferguson are competing for one spot, maybe two.

Reynaud touched the ball four times and Johnson only once Friday. But both players improved their standing with returns that gave the Vikings their top two starting positions, which led to 10 points.

Reynaud is trying to push veteran Maurice Hicks, an established kick returner. Hicks didn't return kicks Friday, giving three others a chance to show their skills. Each of Reynaud's three returns was 25 yards or longer, but he was focused on how he "messed up" the 53-yarder.

Reynaud plays receiver, but he's built like a running back -- "You can call him 'Slash,'" Childress says -- who likes to run over people. Especially kickers.

"There was some great blocking, I used my speed to hit the hole and then it was just me and the kicker [Brandon Coutu]," Reynaud said. "I didn't want to make another cut because I know how fast the guys in the league are. So I decided to run over the kicker, and it didn't work out. I got it pretty good from the guys when I got to the sideline. But now I know what to do the next time."