New kickoff rules are giving more players a chance
With a massive increase in kickoff return plays, players are developing and showing their stuff
By Matthew Coller
EAGAN — Here’s a crazy stat for you: This season the Minnesota Vikings have 57 kickoff returns for 1,495 yards. Over the previous two seasons, they totaled just 33 returns for 788 yards.
The NFL’s decision last offseason to move touchbacks to the 35-yard line has forced teams to put the ball in play much more often in 2025. Kicking it to the returner gives the defending team a chance to potentially pin the opponent deep, cause a fumble or benefit from a penalty. On the other side of the coin, there have been many more explosive plays. There are 22 teams with at least one return of 45+ yards and 11 teams with a 60+ yard return.
Originally born in the XFL, the dynamic kickoff has brought life to a play that had become completely stale. Whether you love or hate the look, it’s clear that there is way more football being played than before. The average number of returns per team last season was 28.8. That has jumped up to 51.5 this year with four weeks still to go. Quick math: There has already been nearly 700 more opportunities for players around the league to make a play.
Last year, the top Vikings return blocker CJ Ham stepped onto the field 80 times and only ended up doing something 14 times. The rest of the time, he watched the ball fly over his head.
“It’s not just a rep where you can go out there and collect a check anymore,” Ham told Purple Insider.
Special teams has long been a development route for young players, especially late-round draft picks and undrafted free agents who are trying to catch coaches’ eyes. But with 30-40 fewer returns per team than back in the day, the snap counts for players who were trying to put their name on the map was significantly reduced in the last decade.
“Last year it was — I wouldn’t say demoralizing, but it was not fun,” outside linebacker and special teamer Bo Richter said. “As a ‘teams guy, it’s a one-play phase to begin with and you only get so many opportunities so when you go out there and it gets kicked out of the back of the end zone, it’s like, there’s one more tick off that I can’t go play. It’s good to play, that’s the bottom line.”
How can these guys prove themselves on kickoffs?
Of course, the first set of folks that we need to talk about is the returners. Throughout NFL history, there have been a bunch of players who went from underdog returners to offensive or defensive contributors. Former Charger Darren Sproles comes to mind. In his first two NFL seasons he only touched the ball on offense 58 times but had 100 kick returns. While he remained a returner for most of his career, he eventually turned into a consistent 100-200 touch player on offense with San Diego, New Orleans and Philadelphia.
Vikings returner Myles Price was undrafted out of Indiana last year and barely returned kicks in college. But in the preseason, he had an extremely impressive return where he blasted through New England Patriots defenders, earning him a chance in the real action. The coaching staff was a little nervous because he’d never been out there before but he shined instantly with big returns against Chicago in the opener. The UDFA now has the second most returns in the NFL (48) and averages 26.3 yards per return, 10th best among returners with at least 10 chances.
“What you’re seeing, the trajectory of Myles Price is that he’s just continuing to get better – a better feel, better vision for understanding how to set [up returns], the tempo that he has to have,” Daniels said. “I am not shocked [by] where he’s at now, or where he is headed, because all the attributes – the ability to break tackles, the vision and seeing and setting up blocks – all of that has already been there, and it’s in him.”
In past years, there is a good chance that Price wouldn’t have made the team. Now he’s not only making an impact as a top returner but he may have a shot at carving out a playmaking role on offense someday.
“You love the guys, sometimes, that – they almost just don’t know how big the situation that they’re in is,” Phillips reflected recently. “To be a rookie returner, where all of us may have been a little bit tight just going into [his debut on Monday Night Football at Chicago], like, ‘Hey, we’ve seen good things, but the lights are really on now, you know, this is the real deal.’ And he hasn’t flinched. He hasn’t changed a bit from day one, with that confidence that he has in himself and his abilities. So, you know, obviously making plays [as a returner and] it excites you about what his future might be able to be as a receiver.”
For other players that aren’t getting the ball in their hands like Price, the kickoff gives them a chance to show that they can learn and adapt.
“Now that it’s back, we have more to practice,” Ham said. “We have more to work on….You have to hone actually your craft.”
Undrafted free agent rookie outside linebacker Tyler Batty spent a good chunk of his first spring and summer in the NFL taking on the task of learning the schematics of the dynamic kickoff, which does not exist in college.
“The biggest thing is making an adjustment to a totally new scheme,” Batty said. “People don’t talk about scheme when it comes to special teams but it’s definitely part of it. Coming in and having to learn that and where to line up and the different rules has been cool.”
Ham said that younger players get a chance to apply their talents at true NFL game speed, which is extremely hard to replicate in practice.
“It’s all intertwined with offensive and defensive skills…special teams is also extremely fast,” Ham said. “The new kickoff return, things happen really fast.”
Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels is getting much larger sample sizes on players’ ability to do football things that translate to offense and defense.
“Probably 7 out of 11 [players on the field] are rookies, so you’re getting a really, really good dosage of what these guys are able to do,” Daniels said. “Do they play with great hands? Do they play with great feel, instincts, awareness of being able to anticipate where the ball is trying to hit…. Can I work an edge on a guy? Do I need to be ready to shock and press this guy? Being able to make decisions at the point of attacking. So a ton goes into this singular play that gives you a ton of information to be able to evaluate these guys, which is another positive.”
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said that the gameday active roster decisions have changed knowing that there will be more kickoffs and that they play is quite different from the way it was in the past.
“The game day roster, where maybe you would have looked at certain positions as a little bit more negotiable for the game day roster, now you say that’s must,” O’Connell said. “You need this many body types, this many skill sets.”
In the past we have seen players like Ham along with Andrew Sendejo, Anthony Harris, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson and others carve out spots because they were strong on special teams. Eric Wilson, who has been shining in 2025 as a starter, originally earned a spot in Minnesota on the ‘teams side.
“There’s more plays that aren’t just getting kicked out of the end zone and you’re out there watching the ball go and giving high-fives,” Richter said. “You can’t put much on tape when the play doesn’t happen. There’s more opportunity to do your thing.”
There’s also confidence that comes along with contributing. All of the younger players filling out the kick return unit were standouts at their high schools and colleges, so they aren’t used to watching from the sideline on offense or defense. While there aren’t as many kickoffs as reps on those sides of the ball, it’s still an opportunity to add to the cause.
“It’s a great opportunity to get out there and help the team,” Batty said. “Making the kickoff viable and important again is an advantage because they need bodies. It’s an opportunity to get out there and contribute in a way that might not be the most typical that everyone watches.”
The other word that kept coming up: Fun.
“It’s been a ton of fun for me personally, I’ve enjoyed it,” Batty said.
“It’s good to play, that’s the bottom line,” Richter said.