The Extra Point

Pharoh Cooper of the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill split 10 of the 11 first-place votes in The Associated Press kick returner rankings. The overall tally wasn’t nearly that close. Cooper finished with 102 points, 43 ahead of the Chiefs’ speedy multipurpose man because Hill was left off two ballots and barely made three others on the voting panel that includes Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton and 10 AP pro football writers.

Hill’s diminished role — he is no longer returning kickoffs and isn’t in the top 10 in average yards on punt returns — was the difference. The second-year player finished fourth with 59 points, also behind a pair of rookies in runner-up Jamal Agnew of Detroit and Dallas’ Ryan Switzer.

“For sheer excitement, he’d be No. 1,” wrote AP lead NFL writer Barry Wilner. “But the Chiefs hardly use him on returns the way they once did. He has only an 8.8-yard average on punt runbacks.”

The surprising Rams could be part of the reason Cooper was one of just two returners named on all 11 ballots (Switzer was the other). L.A. leads the NFC West and at 9-4 has clinched its first winning season since 2003.

Cooper, also a second-year man, had one of just three kickoff returns for touchdowns in the NFL going into Week 15, a 103-yarder in a 27-17 win at AFC South-leading Jacksonville. His 28.3-yard average on kickoff returns leads the league, and he has a solid 11.9-yard average on punt returns.

PHAROH COOPER