The Chiefs’ punt return squad went out with a bang in Super Bowl LVII, which makes it easy to forget that the team was actually a disaster on punt returns for the majority of their last campaign.
It’s covered in more detail in my 2022 Chiefs special teams review, but essentially Kansas City had a bottom-10 punt return squad last season. Much of that was due to players’ individual struggle, but a sort of musical chairs approach to the punt returner role by the team’s coaching staff didn’t seem to help either.
The answer of who the team’s best player is at the position is still in question as the Chiefs begin training camp. Special teams coordinator Dave Toub has a handful of intriguing prospects — both rookies and veterans — to try out. Below are the players expected to compete for the punt returner role for the Chiefs: