Caleb Harris
O NFL kickoff will look totally different this year after owners approved one of the most drastic rule changes in league history in March.
The new kickoff will be like nothing you’ve seen before in the NFL.
The biggest change with the kickoff is that of the 22 players on the field for the play, 21 of them will be in the receiving team’s territory. The kicker will be at his normal starting spot, but the other 10 players on the kicking team will line up at the receiving team’s 40-yard line. As for the receiving team, there will be one or two returners back on the field for the kickoff and then the other nine (or 10) players must line up in the staging zone, which is a 5-yard space leading from the receiving team. 30 to their 35 yard line.
At this time, each NFL team is trying to figure out how to take advantage of the new rule.
Broncos coach Sean Payton was asked about the rule over the weekend and he had some interesting things to say, so let’s look at Payton’s opinion on the new rule:
- Teams may need a new generation of starting returners. Under the old rule, a returner almost always ended up kicking off right away, but under the new rule, that will almost certainly not be the case. Kickers will likely try to get the ball to hit the ground, which means you may need a returner who can field a grounder. “Both quarterbacks are going to have to have good ball skills, a little bit of shortstop, third base if you will, because we’re not going to just get these easy-to-catch high shots anymore,” Payton said, via PFT. “We’ll hit those shots in the gaps, if you will…So I think that creates a unique skill set for the returners.”
- Payton says we will see bigger players on the field. The returners and kicker won’t be big, but Payton believes coaches will start putting bigger players on the field at all other kickoff spots. “I think the penthouse and blocking units will be a little larger because we are reducing the amount of space we take up,” Payton said.
- The new rule could create more touchdowns. If the NFL was hoping to add some spice to the kickoff return, Payton thinks his plan will succeed. Broncos coach thinks there will be a lot of kick return touchdowns in 2024. “I don’t know what the average touchdowns are — it’s been a while — but you can get a few a year. [per team],” Payton said. “You will get double-digit touchdown returns [throughout the league]. You’re going to see a lot more plays and I think that was the intent of the rule.”
There have only been four kickoff return touchdowns during the 2023 season, which is an extremely low number when you consider there have been nine kickoff return touchdowns through 2020. Payton clearly thinks the number of kickoff return touchdowns could approach the 2020 number with the new rule.
Anyway, if you need a quick update on the new home rule, You can check this here
