Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy answers questions from the media following practice at Chiefs' training facility on Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Kansas City. By Emily Curiel
Kansas City Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub knows he has a talented weapon at punt return.
The question, however, is whether he’ll get to use him there in 2025.
When speaking with reporters last week, Toub said 2024 first-round pick Xavier Worthy shouldn’t be overlooked as a potential punt returner for the upcoming season.
“He’ll be in the mix,” Toub said.
It’s a surprising statement given Worthy’s production at receiver for the Chiefs.
Worthy showed great development a year ago after stepping into KC’s No. 1 receiver role following a Week 4 injury to teammate Rashee Rice. That reached its peak in Super Bowl LIX, when Worthy caught eight passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns while setting a new Super Bowl rookie record for receiving yards.
The performance led coach Andy Reid to discuss greater hopes for Worthy this offseason while saying the team would continue to utilize him in new and additional ways as a receiver.
“We were able to tap into that ... and start showing it the last quarter of the season a little bit,” Reid said at the NFL Combine in February. “But I’m not sure we’ve tapped it all out. I think there’s more. And that’s exciting.”
No doubt Worthy’s speed — he set the NFL Combine record in the 40-yard dash — would play up in special teams if he were asked to contribute. Worthy participated in punt return drills during Wednesday’s Organized Team Activities practice open to reporters, and his 14.5-yard punt return average at Texas ranks second in program history.
“I say he’s the best punt returner nobody knows about, right now, in the league,” Toub said. “That’s Worthy.”
Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) gets warmed up during practice on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at the team’s training complex in Kansas City. Tammy Ljungblad tljungblad@kcstar.com
The reasons for Worthy not doing it this year would be similar to last season.
Special teams duties only increase the potential for injury. They also would add an extra burden for Worthy, who is still growing as a receiver after just turning 22 in April.
Putting him at punt returner would be a drastic shift from a year ago. Worthy had only one special-teams snap then for the Chiefs, as he entered for a kickoff return during the AFC Championship against the Buffalo Bills while faking a reverse handoff.
Though Toub referenced Rice’s injury as a significant factor for keeping Worthy off punt returns a year ago, the Chiefs didn’t utilize Worthy as a returner before Rice went down in Week 4, either. That makes it seem like more of a long shot that they’d change course over the next few months.
Some other candidates for the Chiefs’ punt returner role include Nikko Remigio, who secured that spot for the final eight games. Though Remigio doesn’t have top-end speed, Toub praised the third-year pro for his proficiency while saying he’d be a “hard guy to beat out.”
“He brings so many other things to the table, as far as his ball reads, his catching on the run, his instincts of how close somebody is to him, where he can time it up and beat him with just his catching ability alone,” Toub said. “And he just keeps getting better.”
Chiefs seventh-round pick Brashard Smith also will be a candidate at punt returner ... along with Worthy.
That is, if the Chiefs decide to pivot from their approach last year.
“Hopefully,” Toub said of Worthy, “we get him back there too.”