Given the state of the Dallas Cowboys‘ defense in 2025, All Pro KaVontae Turpin certainly got plenty of opportunities to return kicks. He led the league, in fact, with 69 returns, and racked up a total of 1,814 yards, also most in the league. But he was not all that happy with his efficiency–Turpin returned kicks for 26.3 yards per return, down from the 33.5 yards he averaged the previous year, when he led the NFL.
The dip is, in part, because of new kickoff rules, but Turpin feels there is more to it than that. He allowed himself–and part of this was breakdowns in the Cowboys’ blocking schemes–to get tied in on the sideline too often, and hesitated too much. The Cowboys, generally, struggled in special teams last year, but Turpin and coordinator Nick Sorensen are working to change that as Dallas prepares to open training camp later this month.
KaVontae Turpin ‘Didn’t Live to Expectations’
Asked about what he learned last season, Turpin told Cowboys reporters it starts with his feet.
“I’ve just got to stop stopping my feet,” Turpin said. “I didn’t live to my expectations when I had 33 yards [per return] average, but I still averaged 25, I still was up there in the top-five. I understand the expectation that I put on myself, I’ve got to be better, but at the same time, I’ve got to stop stopping my feet. That’s the plan that me and Nick and Schotty (Brian Schottenheimer) looked at, we’ve just got to run through the smoke. That’s the plan.”
Cowboys Kept Special Teams Staff in Place
The Cowboys fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus last January after the wrapped up one of the worst defensive seasons in franchise history, and the heat that Eberflus took probably took some attention off Sorensen, who struggled in his first year in the special teams role in Dallas. But the Cowboys brought Sorensen back, and Turpin said one of the challenges will get getting the team’s blocking to improve.
That’s on Sorensen.
“I just feel like the blocking level was wrong,” Turpin said. “We were getting blown up on some of the plays, we weren’t sticking our ground. That’s something that we’re working on this offseason, holding your ground and just punching back pretty much. Trying to power through, I still feel like I was running behind people, stuff like that, so we’re just trying to clean everything up in the offseason.”
KaVontae Turpin Has Advice for Cowboys New Punt Returner
As he has kept his role in the Cowboys’ kicking game–a more important role with the kickoff rule changes–and gotten more usage in the offense as a receiver, Turpin’s role has diminished as a punt returner. The Cowboys are testing rookie safety Caleb Downs with that job, something he’s done in college but would have to adjust to in the NFL.
Turpin has advice: “I told him, get to your spot first. That’s the big thing. You know, you get the timing on the ball, get to your spot—he did it before. He just has got to get comfortable back there. It’s different because the punter is kicking it high in the sky. Get to your spot, he’ll be able to catch it.”
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