Whether called explosive or electric, playmakers with elite speed are unstoppable when they are operating at the top of their game. Natural talent and speed will always win when all are other things are equal. It’s only when the pesky intangibles sneak into the equation when natural explosiveness isn’t enough, and that’s exactly what appears to be happening with the Dallas Cowboys most electric playmaker, KaVontae Turpin.
Turpin, a Pro Bowl return man and dynamic offensive chess piece, has had an up and down season for the Cowboys. On one hand, he’s pacing a career high in receiving yards/game, catch percentage and first downs in a single season. On the other hand, his bread and butter, the return game, has seen a significant regression with Turpin struggling in both punt and kick returns.
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With just 55 total punt return yards, Turpin ranks 37th in the NFL this year, tied with Indianapolis’ Josh Downs. To put that into perspective, there are 10 punt returners who have exceeded Turpin’s cumulative total with just one single return this season. While the NFL average for punt returns currently sits at 10.6 yards, Turpin is averaging roughly half that at 5.5 yards/return.
Kick returns aren’t much better for Turpin, with his 25.8 yards/return also falling below league average (25.9). Turpin hasn’t scored a touchdown off a return in 2025, and he hasn’t consistently flipped field position either. Part of this can be blamed on blocking, but a fair portion of the blame falls right at his feet.
Watching Turpin return kicks this season, it is hard to not notice his indecisiveness. Best illustrated by his attempted “take backsies” on two fair catches this season, he is leaving yards on the field and meat on the bone. R.J. Ochoa from Bloggin the Boys ran the numbers and determined only eight of his 78 returns this season qualified as difference making (40-yard line of better). That’s just roughly 10 percent.
Turpin frequently slow jogs his returns early, saving his explosiveness for a would-be lane opening downfield. Unfortunately, lanes don’t always appear with that approach, and that all-important “x” button goes completely unused.
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Signed to a three-year, $13,500,000 deal over the offseason, it stands to reason Turpin is pressing to live up to his new contract and All-Star return man reputation. He’s been indecisive with fair catches, indecisive with speed and indecisive with cuts, and it’s making him a below average return man.
Luckily, Turpin still has the speed and change-of-direction ability that once made him great. He has the physical skillset to be the NFL’s most electric return man once again, if only he can just find a way to regain that decisiveness that’s been missing from him in 2025.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys Kavontae Turpin needs to regain decisiveness at WR, KR
