The 2024 NFL season is here, and the league’s new hybrid kickoff has become a major talking point amongst fans, media, players, and coaches.
NFL owners approved this major change to the kickoff rules over the offseason. The goal is to increase the number of kickoff returns and decrease the number of violent, high-speed collisions. The XFL had success with a similar hybrid kickoff, so the NFL decided to adapt it in hopes that kickoffs would become relevant again.
How does the NFL’s new hybrid kickoff work? Can teams still do onside kicks? Here’s everything you need to know about the new-look kickoffs.
NFL Owners Approve New Hybrid Kickoff Rule
This proposal passed 29-3 when the NFL’s owners voted over the offseason, with the Las Vegas Raiders, Green Bay Packers, and San Francisco 49ers being the only teams to vote against it.
The hybrid kickoff will be adopted on a one-year trial basis, so there’s no guarantee that it will be a permanent change.
“We put the new kickoff in for the year, and we’ll evaluate it for the entire year,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “It all depends on the outcome and what do we think that we can tweak.”
"We put the new kickoff in for the year and we'll evaluate it for the entire year..
It all depends on the outcome and what do we think that we can tweak" ~ @nflcommish #PMSLive https://t.co/twbbg48YPJ pic.twitter.com/85iMoYycFI
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 4, 2024
This is one of the biggest changes that the NFL has made in recent memory. Players and coaches around the NFL have had to adjust, and there’s been a mixed reaction to the kickoff rule change so far.
What exactly does the new kickoff rule entail?
Details of NFL’s New Hybrid Kickoff Rule
It’s no secret that kickoffs have been perhaps the most dangerous play in football due to the high-speed collisions. In recent years, the NFL understandably prioritized player safety on kickoffs, but this also led to the play becoming very boring since there were so many touchbacks.
The league is hoping that the hybrid kickoff can bring back the excitement of kick returns without putting players in danger. Here are the key details of the NFL’s new hybrid kickoff rule:
- The kicker will kick off from the 35-yard line.
- The football must be kicked off using a tee except on a declared onside kick.
- The other 10 members of the kickoff team will line up at the returning team’s 40-yard line.
- At least nine members of the receiving team will line up five yards away at the 35-yard line.
- Up to two returners will line up in the “landing zone” (between the 20-yard line and the goal line).
- Only the kicker and returners can move before the ball hits the ground or the returner within the landing zone.
- The ball will be placed at the 30-yard line if it lands in the end zone.
- Any kick that hits the landing zone must be returned.
- If the ball lands inside the 20-yard line and rolls into the end zone, it must be returned or downed (which results in the ball being placed at the 20-yard line).
- If a kick fails to reach the landing zone or goes out of bounds, the receiving team takes possession at its 40-yard line.
- No fair catches are allowed.
- Teams can elect to tack on penalty yardage for certain fouls to the end of the play, rather than re-kicking.
Since players are forced to remain in place until the returner has the football, the hope is that there will be significantly fewer high-speed collisions. Also, kickers will try to avoid kicking the ball into the end zone, resulting in an uptick in returns.
In the XFL, the hybrid kickoff was a huge success, as there was a return on 97% of kickoffs during the league’s final season. For comparison, there was a return on just 22% of kickoffs during the 2023 NFL season.
MORE: Simulate the NFL Season With PFN’s Playoff Predictor
Last season, the league leader in kickoff returns was Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon, with only 30. Recently, New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh said he expects kick returners to “touch the ball over 100 times a year” thanks to the hybrid kickoff rule.
Regardless of the exact number, there will be more kickoff returns this season.
What Is the “Landing Zone” on the New Dynamic Kickoff?
While watching the NFL’s new dynamic kickoffs, you’ve likely heard the broadcasters talk about the “landing zone,” so let’s break down what this means.
The landing zone is the space between the 20-yard line and the goal line where the two kick returners stand.
The tacklers and blockers aren’t allowed to move until the ball hits the ground or reaches the returner in the landing zone.
If the football hits the landing zone, the kickoff must be returned. If it lands in the end zone, the ball is spotted at the 30-yard line. If the ball reaches the landing zone but then rolls into the end zone, it must be returned or downed, putting the ball at the 20-yard line.
If a kick doesn’t reach the landing zone, the penalty is the same as an out-of-bounds kickoff: the receiving team takes possession at the 40-yard line.
While the dynamic kickoff should be a fun change that leads to more returns, there’s one potential downside: Onside kicks will undergo some drastic changes, too
How Onside Kicks Will Change Under NFL’s New Kickoff Rule
Once the NFL adopted the hybrid kickoff, it was obvious that they also needed to tweak the onside-kick rules. After all, there wouldn’t be anyone near the kicker at the time of the onside kick.
Now, teams can use unbalanced formations for onside kicks — with six players on one side of the kicker, and four on the other. This should dramatically increase the odds of an onside-kick recovery, which were extremely rare in recent seasons.
However, onside kicks are only permitted in the fourth quarter under the new rules. Also, teams must declare an onside-kick attempt before the play begins. That means surprise onside kicks — like the one the New Orleans Saints executed in Super Bowl XLIV — are prohibited.
"We got it, see ya!"
The @Saints Super Bowl onside kick will forever be legendary 🙌 pic.twitter.com/4Uy2c4lVCZ
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) March 28, 2024
This was one of the more exciting plays in football, so some fans won’t like this change. However, the increase in onside-kick recoveries could be viewed as a net positive.
Teams Are Getting Creative With Their Personnel
Under the NFL’s new kickoff rules, some teams are seriously considering using their star players on kickoff returns rather than specialists.
“I think it gives you more flexibility to get starters on that unit for various reasons,” Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said recently. “Overall, it wouldn’t shock me if, shoot, every No. 1 receiver and every No. 1 running back in the league is raising their hands to return kicks Week 4.”
The Dolphins aren’t ruling anything out, including the possibility of putting offensive linemen or tight ends on their return team to improve blocking.
“Honestly, right now, we are looking at everything and anybody,” Dolphins special teams coordinator Danny Crossman told PFN. “We are not eliminating anyone when it comes to position groups that maybe weren’t part of that aspect over the last couple years.”
While most NFL players and coaches have expressed excitement about the new-look kickoffs, not everyone is a fan.
“It just feels weird,” said Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay. “I mean, it doesn’t look like anything I have been familiar with [in] football. I know that the intent is right, and we’ll try to figure it out, and I know everybody that has been involved in that has their intentions in the right place. But it’s a very foreign-looking play.
“Ultimately, however we feel about it, we’ve got to be able to adjust and make sure that we adapt, and it can be something that is an advantage to us. We’ll continue to really put our heads together with [special teams coach] Chase [Blackburn] and [special teams assistant] Chili Davis and with [game management coordinator] John Streicher, and figure out what’s the best way to execute that phase so that it will be beneficial for our team.”
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh felt there were better options to reinvigorate kickoffs, but he feels it’s better than nothing.
“I thought there were other options — I’ll just be clear about that,” Harbaugh said. “[But] I was for doing something, and this is something. Basically, at this point, we’re committed to it. We see the good of it, the excitement in it.”
Again, all of this is subject to change next offseason. But at least during the 2024 season, one thing is certain: NFL kickoffs will be more interesting than ever before.