The Pittsburgh Steelers had a polarizing 2026 NFL Draft, taking certain players and positions earlier than expected. The goal of today’s article is to contextualize how rare Wetjen’s return results were in 2025, and perhaps help a majority of the fanbase breathe easier about selecting him in the fourth round.
For starters, he is one of only eight players with at least 15 kick and punt returns in the 2025 collegiate season per Sports Info Solutions (SIS). It’s quite rare for college teams to ask players to do both.
Next, I wanted to provide a visual average yards on kick and punt returns, looking at just the eight names that had 15 kick and punt returns:
Clearly, Wetjen was in a league of his own as a returner last season. He far surpassed the rest of the group that was asked to pull double duty on both kick and punt returns. Wetjen had 16 kick returns in 2025, for a 29.8 kick return average. The second-best among dual returners was 23.6. Wetjen averaged 26.8 per punt return, best in all of college football. He beat the group above by a wide margin to boot, with just an 11.8-yard average as second-best.
Wetjen’s contributions in the return game were unparalleled. His punt return results are even more impressive considering his 36 attempts, tied for the tenth most of all punt returners last season. So he consistently did damage as a punt returner, blowing his peers out of the water.
Another thing Pittsburgh’s return game has lacked is field-flipping plays, and of course, scoring plays. Wetjen had the longest kick return (100) and punt return (95) in 2025, which is a rare value. He also led college football with four total return touchdowns (three punt returns, one kick return), and was the only one to have at least one touchdown in each, per SIS.
Wetjen wasn’t just a good returner; he was far ahead of the rest and provided value that no other player came close to providing. Want more sample size proof? Using the same parameters as above (15 kick and punt returns) for 2024, Wetjen had three total return TDs (two punt returns, one kick return), the only one with scores on each. He led this group in kick return average and longest return in each (100-yard kick return, 85-yard punt return).
So, Wetjen stacked two incredibly impressive consecutive seasons as a returner to end his collegiate career, with absurd and rare production. Not the typical returner you grab in the seventh round, as I’m sure many fans thought when hearing that position in the fourth round. Pittsburgh showed conviction, addressing a huge need that could have an indisputable impact that the team has lacked for far too long.
Here’s to hoping it continues for the Iowa product, bringing more of the same on his next Black and Gold endeavor with the Pittsburgh Steelers.