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DAL Dallas Cowboys · WR· #9 · also kick returner

KaVontae Turpin

Age
30
Height
5'7"
Weight
158 lbs
College
TCU
Drafted
Not drafted
Experience
8th NFL season
Compare with another playerPunt returners leaderboard

56

Overall grade

9th of 34 punt returners

Well above typical

above average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

KaVontae grades above average among punt returners so far, with no number far from the middle.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 4 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the punt returners in the league.

  • EPA per punt fielded+0.342nd of 34small sample
  • Yards per return11.1 yds12th of 24

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying punt returners. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among punt returners after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 3: 81st percentileWeek 4: 97th percentileWeek 5: 97th percentile97th

Season rank climbed: 81st to 97th percentile since Wk 3.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per punt fielded game by game
WeekOpponentThat gamepuntsSeason rank after
2vs WAS+0.771–
3vs BAL+0.08381st pct
4vs HOU+0.41497th pct
5vs TB+0.34397th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 3 punts can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every punt returner with at least 5 punts fielded. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per punt fielded

Elite

+0.34

2nd of 34 punt returners · top 6%

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. From his team's side, for every punt he fields, fair catches included.

The box score: Return average ignores fair catches and the starting field position.

Does it show up in winning? Across 54 games league-wide, a good or bad game on EPA per punt fielded from a punt returner has not lined up much with his team winning (61% wins in the best third, 53% in the worst).

Last 2 games: +0.38 (7) vs +0.25 beforeevenWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts · true level likely −0.06 to +0.73

Yards per return

Typical

11.1 yds

12th of 24 punt returners · top 50%

Average yards when he returns the punt (fair catches excluded).

The box score: This is the box score number.

Last 2 games: 11.4 yds (5) vs 10.8 yds beforeevenWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 9 returns · true level likely 6.7 yds to 15.5 yds

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the punt returners around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Fair catch rate

Style

18%

Returns almost everything, and more so than almost any of the punt returners. A typical one is 41%.

How often he fair catches instead of returning, a choice about risk.

Sample still growing · 11 punts

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

KaVontae Turpin game by game
GameResultFieldedYdsEPA/puntYds/return
Wk 2 vs WASW 37–2019+0.779.0 yds
Wk 3 vs BALL 31–34334+0.0811.3 yds
Wk 4 vs HOUW 34–30447+0.4111.8 yds
Wk 5 vs TBL 16–24310+0.3410.0 yds

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among punt returners. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

KaVontae Turpin box score totals
StatTotalRank
Punts fielded1113th of 34
Return yards1004th of 34

Players with a similar profile

The punt returners whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

As a kick returner

Points added and yards gained on kickoff returns.

The read

KaVontae grades about average among kick returners so far, with no number far from the middle.

Lately he is playing worse. EPA per return is −0.11 over the last 2 games (10 returns), against +0.29 before that. The change points one way, but a few plays could still explain it.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the kick returners in the league.

  • Yards per return28.3 yds14th of 53small sample
  • EPA per return+0.0746th of 53

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying kick returners. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among kick returners after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 1: 26th percentileWeek 2: 48th percentileWeek 3: 53rd percentileWeek 4: 74th percentileWeek 5: 14th percentile14th

Season rank slipped: 26th to 14th percentile since Wk 1.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per return game by game
WeekOpponentThat gamereturnsSeason rank after
1vs NYG+0.00426th pct
2vs WAS+0.60348th pct
3vs BAL+0.48153rd pct
4vs HOU+0.55574th pct
5vs TB−0.76514th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 4 returns can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every kick returner with at least 5 returns. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per return

Well below typical

+0.07

46th of 53 kick returners · bottom 16%

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. From his team's side, for each kickoff he returns.

The box score: Return average ignores the starting field position the team would have had anyway.

Does it show up in winning? Across 82 games league-wide, teams won 54% of the time when their kick returner was in the best third on EPA per return, and 30% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: −0.11 (10) vs +0.29 before−7.9grade points downLeaning that way

Sample still growing · 18 returns · true level likely −0.24 to +0.38

Yards per return

Well above typical

28.3 yds

14th of 53 kick returners · top 27%

Average yards per kickoff return.

The box score: This is the box score number.

Does it show up in winning? Across 82 games league-wide, teams won 63% of the time when their kick returner was in the best third on yards per return, and 30% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 27.4 yds (10) vs 29.5 yds before−3.5grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 18 returns · true level likely 24.8 yds to 31.8 yds

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

KaVontae Turpin game by game
GameResultRetYdsEPA/returnYds/return
Wk 1 vs NYGL 20–284105+0.0026.3 yds
Wk 2 vs WASW 37–203100+0.6033.3 yds
Wk 3 vs BALL 31–34131+0.4831.0 yds
Wk 4 vs HOUW 34–305147+0.5529.4 yds
Wk 5 vs TBL 16–245127−0.7625.4 yds

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among kick returners. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

KaVontae Turpin box score totals
StatTotalRank
Returns181st of 53
Return yards5101st of 53

Players with a similar profile

The kick returners whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.

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