RIVER FALLS, WIS. ? Not even his Kansas City teammates are safe from Dante Hall’s slick moves.

Consider the case of R-Kal Truluck. The big defensive end had been standing in line for more than 20 minutes, waiting to have his picture taken for Monday Night Football. The door to the film room swung open, and Truluck started through. But from behind came Hall, the electrifying kick returner, distracting his attention and slipping silently past.

Before Truluck knew what happened, a grinning Hall was sitting in front of the cameras, waving at him.

Everyone laughed, and nobody was angry, not even Truluck. It’s hard to get mad at the fun-loving, 5-foot-8 Texan who remains the same humble, playful soul he was before he emerged last season as a standoaut.

“He’s a complete delight as a person,” special teams coach Frank Gansz Jr. said. “You talk about a kid who’ll do anything for you, who’s fun to coach.”

Said a smiling Truluck, “He’s real swift, real cunning and real low to the ground. I didn’t see him slide past, he’s so fast.”

Last season, Hall set an NFL record with touchdown returns in four straight games and just missed adding a record-setting fifth regular-season TD return more than once.

Although it didn’t count for the regular-season record, he did get No. 5 against Indianapolis in the playoffs with a dancing, dashing 92-yard beauty.

Counting pass receptions, his 11 career regular-season touchdowns have spanned an average distance of 79.8 yards. No one with at least 10 touchdowns has a longer average.

“Now people are making adjustments,” he said. “I’m a target. I’m a bull’s-eye. So it’s going to be a little tougher this year. When the opportunity was there to get six or seven (touchdown returns), we should have gotten six or seven and shattered the record. But this gives us something to aim for this year.”

Kansas City's Dante Hall practices kick returns during training camp. Hall, shown Wednesday in River Falls, Wis., is a favorite among Chiefs teammates and coaches.

He’s still upset for not getting another TD return last season. On one occasion, he let the punter get him on a last-chance, desperation swipe of his hand. Another time, a teammate missed what should have been an easy block on the only remaining tackler.

“How many chances are you going to get?” Hall said. “That’s what bothered me. I might never be that close again.”

Hall is continuing to work out at wide receiver during training camp, but coach Dick Vermeil knows his greatest asset may be the psychological advantage that comes with putting Hall in the backfield to wait for a kick.

“Whenever you change dramatically what you’re doing weekly, sometimes you gain a little and sometimes you lose a little, especially if you’re asking the punter to punt the ball a little differently than he’s been doing all year,” Vermeil said. “All of a sudden, things don’t go so well.”

Without question, before the games even have started, there is at least one defensive player with Hall in his head.

“I can’t tell you what I’ve got planned,” Truluck said. “I’ve got to get him back real sly, real slick. When I do it, everybody’s going to know.”