Why the table is set for KaVontae Turpin to have a breakout season on offense for the Cowboys

The team’s special team star could end up being so much more in 2025.

The Dallas Cowboys made a big move to acquire wide receiver George Pickens from the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 24-year-old receiver has eclipsed 800 yards receiving in each of the three seasons he’s been in the league, including a 1,140 showing in 2023. The addition of Pickens, combined with three-time All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, should make for quite the one-two punch for the Cowboys’ aerial attack.

While these two receivers should help the passing game tremendously, the team is still looking for a quality WR3 to stretch the defense even more. After hearing about the Pickens trade, the optimism for other receivers down the depth chart suddenly increased. Now it feels like anything Jonathan Mingo adds at this point would just be a bonus. The slow-developing Jalen Tolbert is coming off a 610-yard season last year. If he’s close to that again, he becomes much easier to like since he’ll take on a smaller role. Anything remotely decent from Parris Campbell, Jalen Brooks, or Ryan Flournoy will just be icing on the cake.

One guy that’s easy to forget about is KaVontae Turpin. And that’s because he’s mostly just a return man. This former USFL player immediately caught our attention when he housed two kicks in the first half of the team’s second preseason game in 2022.

While Turpin’s appeal as a punt/kick returner was exciting, he was much more than that during his one season with the New Jersey Generals. He caught 44 passes for 540 yards and added another 129 yards rushing. Add that to his return performance, and it was good enough to win the MVP in the USFL’s inaugural season.

Unfortunately, the dynamic versatility of what Turpin had to offer quickly faded. He never found the end zone in his first year with the Cowboys, in any fashion. And he only caught one pass for nine yards. Little did we know, his electric first half in a preseason game would be the highlight of his rookie year.

Over the next two seasons, Turpin became more involved in the offense. Whether he was figuring things out, the coaching staff’s finding more ways to use him, or a combination of both, he started to see more and more time on offense. Last season, he caught 31 passes for 440 yards. He’s also rushed 27 times for 202 yards over the last two years. Turpin was also the only player to return a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown last season.

In his three seasons in the league, he’s been named a Pro Bowler twice and earned first-team All-Pro honors last year. The Cowboys wanted to retain their special teams star, so they signed him to a three-year, $18 million deal this offseason. What should we expect to see from him going forward?

Turpin enters a new season with even more experience and a new coaching staff. Yeah, Brian Schottenheimer has been with this offense during his entire time in Dallas, but what will it mean for him with Schotty having greater influence on the play-calling? So much has been made about utilizing guys to their strengths, so will they put him in more favorable situations this upcoming season?

With so much attention devoted to stopping Lamb and Pickens, there will be opportunities to find open space in the secondary, and Turpin is really fun when he gets in space. Imagine him getting loose with no help available over the top.

We don’t know what this new Cowboys offense will look like this season. With so many different pieces, it will be interesting to see what the coaching staff comes up with. They have options, and Turpin is definitely one of those options. There are a lot of new changes that could line up nicely for him to have a breakout season on offense this year.