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          NFL Nation

          OL Jon Feliciano relishes chance to return kickoff

          • Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterAug 20, 2017, 10:59 PM
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              Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role - writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA's Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis' Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
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          OAKLAND -- Jon Feliciano's day job is serving as the Oakland Raiders' backup interior offensive lineman. But when he saw the football coming his way on a squib kickoff in Saturday night’s exhibition against the Los Angeles Rams, well, he did what any 6-foot-4, 325-pounder with the self-proclaimed “best hands in the league” would do.

          He fielded the ball cleanly and took off upfield to the tune of an 18-yard return.

          “Hey, the more you can do, right?” Feliciano said in the post-game locker room, referencing the need to have a, ahem, diverse skill set to stick on a 53-man roster.

          Raiders coach Jack Del Rio, meanwhile, took a different road.

          “Yeah, get down,” Del Rio said “Don’t take that beating. He thinks he’s an athlete. It was a heads-up play. Caught the ball and got some good, solid yardage. Would just like him to get down, but good, solid play.”

          Feliciano, after all, missed the first two weeks of training camp after suffering a knee injury in OTAs.

          Still, he maintained a sense of levity after his return and Del Rio’s wishes.

          Earlier, he Tweeted:

          He may have a point... kind of.

          As part of a camp-breaking competition/team-building exercise, Feliciano repped the offense in a punt-fielding drill against special-teamer Andrew East, a backup long snapper, and defensive tackle Justin Ellis. Feliciano and East caught Marquette King's punts while Ellis could not.