NFL kickoffs will have a very different look in the fall of 2024.
After rule changes were made in order to try to reduce the risk of injury on the play, it ensured that the beginning of NFL games would not look the same beginning this season.
The rule changes are big, and they are designed with the idea of keeping the excitement of big returns while minimizing violent, high-speed collisions. In addition, the rules will incentivize teams to allow returns, as the majority of kickoffs resulted in touchbacks over the past few seasons.
The biggest difference is the placement of the kickoff team and the kick return team. Fans are used to the alignment where the ball is placed at the kicking team’s 35-yard line, and the kicking team must be behind the ball when it is kicked. The return team was allowed to position themselves 10 yards past that. This year, the kicker will still place the ball and line up at the 35. However, the rest of the kickoff team will be at the opposing 40-yard line. With the receiving team lined up between the 35 and 30-yard lines, nobody except the returner can move until the ball lands or is caught.
There will be a “landing zone” from the goal line to the 20-yard line. Any kick that is through the end zone will result in a touchback that goes all the way to the 30-yard line. That will incentivize teams to land the ball short of the goal line and should result in more kickoffs being returned.
That is a quick view of the changes, and here’s the bottom line: I like them a lot. The alternative was the eventual extinction of the kickoff altogether, as there were more and more touchbacks regardless. I watched a lot of the XFL’s original iteration of this rule, and despite the different look, kickoffs largely kept their excitement, unpredictability, and explosiveness.
Great returners will still make a difference, and you will still see one of the most exciting plays in football in my opinion: the return touchdown.
With all of these rule changes, coaches have been busy at work all offseason trying to figure out the strategies, approaches, and ways to handle a completely new play essentially.
One of the coaches tasked with figuring out these new rules is New Orleans Saints Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi. The Saints just held minicamp for the past few days, and Rizzi gave some insight into the new rules and how coaches are approaching things.
One question brought up was the idea of using a position player to kick off rather than a kicker or punter so that your coverage team has an extra player who may be a faster, better tackler. Rizzi acknowledged the idea but also pointed out one of the issues with it:
“I understand the theory of maybe putting a position player back there, but here’s the problem… The placement of the kick with the new rules is a premium and so if you have a position player that can really place the ball, then absolutely that could be a benefit to you… the problem is the risk-reward of getting a bad kick because the penalty for getting (a bad kick) is really high.”
The penalty he is referencing is the fact that balls landing short of the “landing zone” result in the ball being placed at the 40-yard line. Any kick going through the end zone will bring the ball to the 30-yard line. These fine lines could be the difference in field position gains or losses that would have a big influence in drives.
While the XFL kickoff rules were similar, there still are some discrepancies. Therefore, the preseason will be the first time coaches and players get to see this new procedure in action. Rizzi expects lots of experimentation across the league in that regard.
“It’s something I think is maybe going to be tried out in the preseason… More than ever before these preseason games are going to be really fun to watch from a special teams standpoint… It really is a first.”
The bottom line for me is that I like these changes. The kickoff return was an endangered species, and this change might breathe new life into it. Some of the most exciting players in the NFL will have a chance to display their talents, and a new layer of strategy will be introduced.
Let’s just hope the reality of the rules match the theory.
Dawson Eiserloh is the co-host of “RP3, D-Loh & Meche” which is broadcast weekdays (11-1) on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station