The Kansas City Chiefs have some decisions to make on special teams as it relates to the punt returner position.
Skyy Moore has been the team’s primary returner for several weeks now and the rookie has made some costly errors. In the Week 3 loss to the Colts, he had two errors catching punts that resulted in a turnover and bad field position for Kansas City.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub was asked whether Moore would continue to be used as the starting punt returner.
“He’s going to be one of them,” Toub said. “We’ll see if we start him or not, but he’ll still be in the mix. We’re not giving up on him. We’ve got to keep developing him moving forward. You know, we have three or four guys who can do it.”
It appears the Chiefs are going to take a committee approach to that position while they continue to develop Moore. Toub says they’ve identified some of the issues, such as Moore catching the ball low and not keeping his eyes up.
“You’ve got to remember, (Skyy Moore) didn’t do it in college,” Toub said. “We’re trying to create him. We’re not giving up on him because he’s got talent. It’s in there. He’s just got to get more confidence. He’s got to catch more balls in games. He can catch them on the jugs and stuff, but games is where it matters most when you’ve got that coverage coming down on you.”
Mecole Hardman is expected to be among those players in the mix at punter returner. The Chiefs’ newest weapon, Kadarius Toney, is also someone that Toub anticipates using on special teams as both a punt and kick returner.
“Yeah, he can do it,” Toub said of Toney.
Will Toney be able to get up to speed and return punts or kicks in Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans? Toub was non-commital on that, leaving that decision up to Andy Reid.
“Maybe,” Toub said. “We’ve got to wait and see. Coach (Andy Reid) wants to get a look at him all week and then make a decision at game time. It’s literally how it’s going to go, but I like what I’ve seen so far. It looks good.”
Toub said he spoke to New York Giants special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey about Toney and he’s recognized some of the same traits in practice so far. The biggest thing he’s noticed is his strength, but he says there are a few things he can learn about a player in practice even without live special teams reps.
“You can tell whether he’s a good catcher, you can tell what kind of first step he has and you can tell how his ‘make you miss’ is,” Toub explained. “Today we’ll learn a lot more about (Kadarius Toney) too.”
There is one other option at the punt returner position returning to action for Kansas City this week. During the offseason, Toub praised rookie CB Trent McDuffie as one of the team’s best catchers on punt returns. Up until he was placed on injured reserve, McDuffie actually appeared on the depth chart ahead of Moore at punt returner. While Toub doesn’t anticipate using McDuffie on punts this week, it’s something that could be explored in the future.
“He’s just coming back,” Toub said of McDuffie. “So, we’re just kind of slow-playing him. But yeah, he’s another guy that can do it. We’ll work him again today, but obviously, he’s just coming back so you don’t want to put too much on his plate right now, but he’s a guy.”
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