On Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up their second week of OTAs. Currently, practice still favors the offense, which means rookies like running back Brashard Smith and wide receiver Jalen Royals and veterans like receiver Tyquan Thornton have a chance to get ahead in position battles. That said, there are other position battles that a good showing in OTAs can affect, including punt returner.
Following Wednesday's practice, special teams coordinator Dave Toub spoke about the punt returner competition. According to Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports, Toub told reporters that Nikko Remigio is improving as a punt returner, but Smith and Xavier Worthy are also competing for the spot.
Toub added, "It's going to be a great battle at that punt return spot." These comments put Remigio's roster spot in 2025 up for grabs.
Nikko Remigio is Battling to Remain the Chiefs' Roster in 2025
Last season, Kansas City had three players returning punts, including Skyy Moore, Mecole Hardman, and Nikko Remigio. Remigio was the most recent as he returned punts for the final eight games of the Chiefs' season. In those eight games, the 25-year-old returned 14 punts for 161 yards, which is an average of 11.5 yards per return.
While that's not a terrible average, Remigio didn't have any meaningful contributions outside of punt returning. As a receiver, he caught two passes and six targets for 48 yards. Therefore, Smith and Worthy challengingRemigio for punt return duties during OTAs makes sense.
Although Worthy's chances of actually returning punts during the season remain low, his speed is a tempting reason to test him out there during OTAs.
On the other hand, Smith may be a viable option as a punt returner. Like Worthy, Smith has speed and even returned punts in college. Where the two differ is that Smith has a lot steeper hill to climb to see reps at running back.
However, it's not completely unlikely that Smith will see time in the backfield this season, so having him as the team's main punt returner could make sense. That being said, Remigio must show he's miles ahead of everyone as a kick returner or prove he can contribute on offense this offseaosn to keep his roster spot.