‘If you get too comfortable, you’re gonna get got’ — Chiefs third-year receiver refuses to let opportunity slip through his fingers in 2025
Kansas City Chiefs third-year WR Nikko Remigio is treating every day as if it were his first with the team.
As an undrafted free agent out of Fresno State in 2023, Kansas City Chiefs WR Nikko Remigio was making a strong push for the 53-man roster in training camp and preseason Week 1 before injury struck. He was waived with an injury designation during roster cuts, due to a shoulder injury. He’d revert to injured reserve and spend that entire season as a redshirt in Kansas City.
The following offseason, he came back with a vengeance, determined to make the 53-man roster. He didn’t get his opportunity until December 7, when he was promoted from the team’s practice squad to the active roster to play return specialist. In just five regular-season games played, he returned 11 punts for 104 yards. He had a 41-yard punt return in the AFC Championship Game, which helped the Chiefs secure a win over the Buffalo Bills en route to Super Bowl LIX. He also led all special teamers in kick returns (10) and kick return yards (301) during the 2024 postseason.
With the 2025 NFL season in sight, Remigio remains determined to defy the odds again and make it back on the 53-man roster in Kansas City. He made it clear on Friday that he has the right mindset and work ethic to achieve that goal.
Chiefs WR Nikko Remigio isn’t getting complacent based on 2024’s success
Remigio has a bit of an advantage heading into the 2025 NFL offseason based on last season’s success on special teams. His other advantage? His competitive drive. It’s something that Chiefs HC Andy Reid sought to praise when speaking about him on Friday.
“He’s (Nikko Remigio) is very competitive,” Reid said. “They’re all competing like crazy for six or seven spots is what you’re looking at. They’re in there battling their tails off to make one of those positions, and Remigio is doing that. I know you know him and how competitive a kid he is. Everything he does, he’s competitive. Now he has that punt return thing that goes into his favor, but we’ve got some other guys that are fighting for that spot too.”
Last week, Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub told reporters that Remigio was “far above everybody else” in the punt returner competition. That typically would be well-received, but when Remigio was informed about the comments from Coach Toub on Friday, his response to the compliment might not be what you’d come to expect.
“This is my first time hearing that, so I take it with a grain of salt,” Remigio said. “You know, I think the thing that I’ve learned with this business is that if you get too comfortable, you’re gonna get got. I’ve worked too damn hard to get to this point in my career, to get to year three, to let it slip through my fingers. So, you know really, I approach every day like I’m an undrafted rookie, that barely got a shot to make it to the NFL, and (so) I’m scratching and clawing to just get an opportunity.”
A popular platitude of NFL football is that pressure is privilege. Through the adversity he’s faced to start his NFL career, including an injury and barely getting a shot to make it in the NFL, Remigio says that his threshold and tolerance for stress have been tested. In the heat of practices out at St. Joe, he’s made it clear that’s both on and off the field.
“Coach Reid talks a lot about during training camp, you’re going to have to get to a dark place,” Remigio explained. “And that dark place resembles the space in your head that you’re going to have to get to in the AFC Championship, in the playoffs, when you’re down in the Super Bowl. And you know, there’s a lot that goes into that. And like you said, knowing my story, the journey that it took for me to get here. And I’ll never forget that. I’ll never forget that, and it’s always going to be a driver and a motivator for me.”
With fierce competition in the wide receiver room and only a few spots up for grabs, standing apart will be key for Remigio. Right now, he seemingly has the upper hand in the punt returner competition, but he certainly won’t let up. If anything, he’ll use it to continue to fuel and motivate himself, knowing that the work he’s put in is paying off, and not to let his foot off the gas.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s just who I am, kind of just my makeup, how I’ve been developed, how I’ve been raised,” Remigio said. “It has always revolved around competition. And you know, the only way to get to this point is to be a competitive guy, and to know how to compete and how to bounce back. And yeah, I mean, that’s just who I am.”
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