NFL 2011: Who's More Electrifying, Darren Sproles or Devin Hester?

When it comes to the most exciting players to watch in the NFL, two names comes to mind and they’re Devin Hester and Darren Sproles, but which is more electrifying?

If there was any return specialist that has made a case to solidify his place in Canton, Ohio, it’s Hester.
Hester’s arguably the greatest return man in the history of the sport. No, scratch that. He is the greatest, and any team that continues to kick the ball to him is not only foolish but asking to get beat. It does put a smile on Chicago Bears’ fans though.

When it comes to returning kicks, Sproles isn’t too bad of a return specialist himself. If Sproles gets a punt or kickoff and gets just a shed of daylight, odds are he’s taking it to the house.

But as good as Sproles is at taking kicks back, Hester is the king. Like I said, Hester has already made his case for the NFL Hall of Fame. Through Hester’s NFL career, he’s broken multiple NFL records such as the most combined special teams return touchdowns with 18, punt return touchdowns in his career with 12, most punt return touchdowns in a season with four and combined kick return touchdowns in a season with six.

If those numbers don’t impress you, then I’m afraid nothing will. So, obviously, Hester has the edge over Sproles when it comes to the return game, but that’s the only edge he holds over Sproles.
Sproles has shown this season, as he’s shown in the past, that he can do it all.

Sproles not only has made some noise returning kicks, but he’s been deadly for the New Orleans Saints out of the backfield. The Saints use Sproles like they used Reggie Bush for the past couple of years, and Sproles has proved to be an upgrade.

He’s running outside with sweeps, running between the tackles and he’s catching the football out of the backfield in such a way that it has made the Saints’ explosive offense even more dangerous. So where Hester has not been able to be the threat on offense that the Bears hoped he could become, that’s where Sproles has thrived.

Through the majority of this season, Sproles has been the all-purpose yards king. Through seven games this season, Sproles broke over 1,000 all-purpose yards. That’s an amazing stat in itself.

So when it comes down to choosing which player is more electrifying, I think I have to side with the guy that’s more well-rounded. I know not many things can happen during a game that’s more exciting than Hester returning a kick, but Sproles is fun to watch every  time he’s on the field. 

Many fans might disagree with me, but when it comes to defining the most electrifying man in the NFL, look no further than Mr. Sproles.