Every NFL team is working overtime to determine how to utilize the league’s new kickoff rules to its advantage.
The New York Jets are no exception. After a fantastic season from the entire group, special teams coordinator Brant Boyer has taken stock not only in the group of returners he possesses but also in some of the more specific players.
Brant Boyer, Jets Provide Discuss New NFL Kickoff Rules
Like any team, New York has done substantial work concocting new ways to utilize the league’s adoption of the XFL’s kickoff rules. Boyer, the Jets’ top special teams coach, is still not quite sure how the rule changes will play out.
“I think it is going to be fluid, to be honest with you,” Boyer said after Jets practice Tuesday. “It will be interesting to see at the end of the day how it will affect the game and how everybody’s going to respond to it and if the NFL will change rules from what we currently have or not. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.”
Boyer later said that he will be watching the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday to get a better sense of how other teams are utilizing the changes to the kickoff. He also said that his “army of kick returners” is giving him plenty of looks and chances to see how they would handle the current situation.
The NFL adopted the XFL’s rules, which require the other 10 members of the kicking team to line up at the receiving team’s 40-yard line. Until the ball touches a receiving team player or hits the ground, no one can move.
Want a crash course on the @NFL’s Dynamic Kickoff rule? 🏈@Saints Special Teams Coordinator, Darren Rizzi walks you through it! 👇🏿
Check out my full discussion of the new rule with coaches Fassel (@dallascowboys), Rizzi and Hightower (@ChicagoBears): https://t.co/Fru6H2s5Ua pic.twitter.com/qZqZW3COaB
— Troy Vincent, Sr. (@TroyVincentSr) July 31, 2024
“The whole preseason is going to be a trial-and-error kind of thing for everybody in the League,” Boyer explained. “I’m sure there are different ideas everywhere on how on the kickoffs and kick returns and how people are going to block them and how people are going to get to their main returns and stuff like that.”
As the Jets continue to experiment under the new rules, they’ve brought in free agents to help try and capitalize on the changes.
One of those players happens to be Tarik Cohen.
How Can Tarik Cohen Help Jets Kickoff Changes
At the height of his career, Cohen was an All-Pro return specialist and even led the league in punt return yards in 2018. However, after a rash of torn ACLs and Achilles tears, the former Chicago Bear has been out of the NFL for the last four seasons.
His time as a top running back may be over, but Cohen’s impact as a returner appears more than helpful for a team like the Jets and the recent rule changes.
“The potential is great for returners,” Cohen said explaining his impact with the new league rules. “You got a great return team, a great scheme as well, it’s an opportunity for a lot of guys to make a lot of plays. It’s very exciting for me. It feels like a custom-made position, they just added a football that I can compete and play.”
Cohen spoke Tuesday regarding his journey toward the Jets. He bounced along practice squads in 2023 but failed to see NFL action. The former fourth-round pick out of North Carolina A&T explained he had gained weight during his time away from the league but changed his habits once he saw a picture of himself by the pool.
Since then, Cohen has made a positive impact on the Jets and their special-teams unit.
“I think he’s doing a nice job,” Boyer explained. “Obviously, there are some things to clean up and stuff, but he’s a hell of a player, and he’s got really good vision, really good run skill, and they’re working hard back there, and we’ll see how it all shakes out at the end.”
Unlike many teams, New York appears to be working on new techniques and tricks to try and get a leg up on the competition for the 2024 season. Bringing in a veteran like Cohen could alter life for both the runner and the organization itself.