Rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals’ usage (or lackthereof) was one of the most frustrating aspects of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2025 season. It would’ve been understandable if Kansas City’s WR room was deep; however, that wasn’t the case, as no one outside of Rashee Rice showed much flash. Instead, Royals was held out of both the offense and special teams, playing only 86 offensive snaps the entire season, with 48 of these snaps being well after Mahomes had been lost for the season.
At the very least, it seems that Royals could’ve been used as a special-teams weapon. After all, he did average 20.4 yards on nine kicks in his final year at Utah State. Instead, the Chiefs only allowed the receiver to return one kick on 52 special teams snaps.
The blame should fall on special teams coordinator Dave Toub, who, according to Arrowhead Corner, is expected to return for the 2026 season. That’s bad news for Royals, especially if he hoped to become more involved in kick returns next season.
Dave Toub’s Reported Chiefs Return Is Bad News for Jalen Royals
Toub went into the season making it clear how much he wanted return man Nikko Remigio to make the final roster.
This would’ve made sense if not for the fact that Remigio simply offered no upside as a return man. He wasn’t explosive in either punting or kickoff situations, giving every reason for the Chiefs to unleash Royals.
Toub’s return certainly throws a wrench into that. Remigio will be an exclusive rights free agent in March, meaning the Chiefs — more or less — control his future. If Toub tells head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach that he wants to work with Remigio again, there’s a chance that Royals will find himself back in the same frustrating situation.
Fans have every reason for frustration that Royals was never given a real chance on the 2025 roster. Whether it’s on offense or special teams, the soon-to-be second-year WR has all of the talent to make an impact. That’s why the Chiefs drafted him in the fourth round last April, right? He’s now spent plenty of time with the coaching staff, and mishandling his talents in back-to-back years would be a major malpractice.
With Toub back in town, Royals will need the Chiefs to hire the perfect offensive coordinator to help him with his future. The former Aggie is only 22 years old, so he still has plenty of road ahead of him to reach his potential. Hopefully, Kansas City will do right by him in its ongoing OC search, setting him up for as much success as possible next season.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kckingdom.com ’
