Rookies report for Kansas City Chiefs
training camp this Friday! Veterans report next Tuesday! Wednesday will be the first full-team practice!So you know what that means?
It’s time to argue over 2026’s most important position battles. And while there are plenty of questions about the secondary, the defensive line, and who will emerge as the fourth wide receiver or third tight end, the return game will sneakily be very interesting to follow.
Let’s take a look at the incumbents at return specialist,
and we’ll toss a few new challengers in the mix:
Nikko Remigio
Kick returns/yards: 29/741
Punt returns/yards: 25/191
Remigio is the experienced, dependable war horse of the bunch.
You can trust him to keep the floor of the return game at a reasonable level. He’s essentially the equivalent of a Domino’s pepperoni pizza. You know what you’re going to get, and it’s fine for a low-key Friday night dinner, or your five-year-old’s birthday party, but it’s not in the same stratosphere as true pie joints like Minsky’s or Waldo Pizza.
Remigio is not going to put the ball on the ground. He’s going to get upfield quickly, and isn’t going to try to run laterally and make something out of nothing. And that’s his strength. He always gets you something, and that’s better than nothing.
But let’s be real, it doesn’t matter how much extra cheese you put on this pizza; there isn’t a lot of upside to his game.
Brashard Smith
2025 return statistics
Kick returns/yards: 18/481
Punt returns/yards: 6/68
It was pretty clear from the moves the Chiefs made this offseason, like signing two free agent running backs and drafting another, that Smith is not expected to be relied on in the backfield in 2026. If Smith wants to cement his place on this team, he might need to win the return-man job.
Smith’s sample size was small in 2025, but his rate of 11.3 yards per punt return is a respectable mark, one that beats Remigio’s mark of 7.6 yards per punt return.
The issue is that just winning the punt return job might not be enough to earn him a spot on this team. He needs to win both return jobs to maximize his value on the roster.
Tyquan Thornton
2025 return statistics
Kick returns/yards: 18/475
Punt returns/yards: N/A
The Chiefs used Thornton as a kick returner in situations where the team was looking for a home-run shot. He averaged 26.4 yards per return, which was only good for 25th best in the league.
With a two-year contract signed this offseason, Thornton shouldn’t be in the conversation to be a return man in 2026. I think the Chiefs want to use him primarily as a deep threat to stretch the defense and free up receivers like Rashee Rice and Travis Kelce underneath.
I’d be shocked if Thornton is used as the primary return man this year.
Cyrus Allen
Kick returns/yards: 18/475
Punt returns/yards: N/A
Despite not returning kicks since 2023, when he played at Louisiana Tech, I think the Chiefs will take a long, hard look at Allen this training camp in the return game. It’s notoriously difficult for rookie wide receivers to get involved in the Chiefs offense, and that may hold true for Allen.
But he has the agility and makeup to be a decent return man in this league while he gets his sea legs under him.
Jalen Royals
Kick returns/yards: 9/189
Punt returns/yards: N/A
Royals did have one kick return for the Chiefs in 2025, and he took it 30 yards down the field. It’s hard to know what to make of Royals after a rookie campaign where he was seen less than the right side of the Phantom of the Opera’s face.
Royals was returning from a serious foot injury last season, so who knows if that played into it, but the door is open if Royals wants to fight for the return man job.
Emmett Johnson
Kick returns/yards: 3/24
Punt returns/yards: N/A
Despite not being utilized at all as a kick returner in college, Johnson might be the frontrunner to win the job in 2026. Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub highlighted Johnson as a player to watch in the return game last month, saying that he was excited to see how Johnson fit in with the new kickoff rules in the NFL.
When you watch Johnson’s tape, it’s not hard to envision him being an excellent return man in this league. He has great hands, and possibly the best vision of any running back in this class, as well as the ability to navigate traffic and run between and split would-be tacklers.
EJ Smith
Kick returns/yards: 2/21
Punt returns/yards: N/A
Like Johnson, Smith was not used as a return man really in college, despite playing for six seasons between Stanford and Texas A&M at running back and never having more than 220 yards rushing in any of those seasons. But the reason he is on this list is that, like Johnson, Smith was called out specifically as a player to watch in the return game this offseason by Dave Toub.
Okay, Uncle Dave, I’m watching. But I still don’t think Smith wins the job or makes the initial 53 for that matter.
Who do you think will be the team’s kick/punt returner(s) this season? Let us know in the comments.
