NFL’s new kickoff rule: Good move or desperation? Debate with UFL kicker Matt McCrane

There are big changes in store for the league

The NFL is in a constant flux of change. Rules are changed, added, altered, and examined consistently. This does not mean changes are made but are looked at when brought up.

It used to be that players never left the field and only three substitutes a game was allowed. This was an old soccer rule, and so American Football simply utilized things that were familiar and easy to implement. In 1950, free substitution became a new rule.

A punt at one time could be recovered by the offense and gain a new set of downs. Another old rule was when the ball carrier was knocked out of bounds, the next play began one yard into the field of play. A point after play was once worth five points. The shape of the football has been slimmed down four times. A quarterback couldn’t throw a pass unless he was at least five yards behind the line of scrimmage.

One aspect of the game that has undergone a makeover numerous times is the kickoff. For over a decade, the league has tweaked this play with new rule changes.

Some state that the NFL wishes to kill the kickoff altogether. The Alliance of American Football did just that during their short existence. Instead of a kickoff, each offense simply began at the 25-yard line.

The origins of American Football had the kickoff from the 40-yard line. This was done before each half, and after every scoring play where a kickoff from a placekicker was performed. The only exception is after a two-point safety and then the ball can be put into play by either a placement kick, punt, or dropkick.

The first change to the kickoff rule came in 1920. Any kickoff that went out-of-bounds was a live ball and could be recovered by either team. That changed in 1926.

Including these two rules, there are been 72 rule changes regarding the kickoff. This includes timing rules, shoes, contact, foul enforcement, kicking tees, touchbacks, kickoffs out of bounds, formation, specialized kicking balls, and the kickoff spot.

So, if you are an American Football traditionalist, guess what? The kickoff has been tinkered with a lot. That is a ton of rule changes for just one aspect of the game.

Take the kickoff spot for example. It was moved from the 40-yard line to the 50 in 1924 and then moved back to the 40 in 1926. After hash marks were invented in 1932, a team could no longer kick from the outer two zones. In 1974, the kickoff was once again moved back, this time to the 35 then moved back again in 1994 to the 30-yard line which lasted for 17 seasons. In 2011, once again the kickoff spot was moved, this time back up to the 35, and has been a mainstay for 33 years.

And now for 2024, the owners took a look at changing the kickoff. Then they not only changed the play once again, but have made a very radical rule change.

On March 26, 2024, the NFL officially adopted the XFL kickoff.

What is the XFL kickoff?

The XFL began in 2001, played a single season, and quietly was thrown on the pro football league reject pile. When the attempt to re-boot the league came along in 2020, the entity played five games before shutting down due to the pandemic.

One thing stood out about this league: the kickoff. It was different, and by being different was designed to stymie the number of collisions, concussions, and other injuries involved. The idea was that neither the kickoff nor the kickoff return team could get a full head of steam and ramble downfield kamikaze style.

Here is how the XFL version worked.

The kicker lined up at his own 30-yard line all by himself. The return man would stand anywhere inside his team’s own 20-yard line alone as well. The kicking team had the other 10 players standing at the opponent’s 35-yard line while the return team had all of their 10 players at the 30-yard line – which is just five yards apart.

At first, only the kicker and the returner can move. Once the kick is made and the kick is cradled (or touched) by the return man or three seconds after it touches the ground, then and only then can both teams begin to move with 10 blockers and 11 tacklers, which include the kicker.

Kicks that landed out of bounds before the 20-yard line resulted in the ball being placed at the 45-yard line, a huge advantage. Any touchback that rolled from the field of play into the end zone was placed at the 15 whereas if the ball was booted into the end zone and then whistled dead began at the 35.

The thought process was to devise holes near the return man and open lanes for better field position and even a possible touchdown.

With this lineup, kickoff coverage players are not able to go full speed for 30 yards. That is the objective: to keep the speed of both rosters to a minimum.

The NFL tweaks the XFL kickoff

The NFL has wanted to alter the kickoff for years. While kickoff returns are electric for the fans and can certainly change the game, the league hopes each kick is downed in the end zone without any return at all. And this is strictly because of litigation and injury factors.

And now, the NFL has adopted the XFL kickoff. For one season on a trial run.

The alignment going forward will be much different. The college fair catch rule instituted last year is gone. The number of touchbacks will be absent as well although these can happen albeit the chances are limited.

The NFL version has something new called a “landing zone.”

Here’s how this works. The kicker lines up at his own 35-yard-line (instead of the 30 as the XFL kickoff mandated). The kicking team lines up 10 players on the opponent’s 40-yard line while the receiving team has 9-10 guys on the 35-yard line just like the XFL variety. The only difference is with the NFL version, two return men may be placed deep. Both have the special teams players just five yards apart.

The ball must arrive in the “landing zone” which is the area beginning at the 20-yard line to the goal line which essentially has been referred to as “the Red Zone” since 1983. The ball can hit the ground anywhere in this zone or be caught by the return man.

As soon as the kicker hits the ball, he and the return man can move but no other players. Once the returner touches the ball or the ball hits the turf, both the kickoff team and kickoff return squads can move.

If the ball goes into the end zone, it can be downed for a touchback and the ball will now be placed on the 30-yard line whereas in the past it was the 25.

There are penalties associated with this new kickoff. For one, any kickoff that goes out of bounds regardless of location is placed at the 40-yard line like before. Secondly, if any kickoff lands in the field of play but in front of the landing zone, it is whistled a dead ball and also placed at the 40-yard line. There can be offsides called if either unit leaves too early.

Another aspect of this new rule is it emphasizes the importance of having a very good return man.

Is this new kickoff a good thing, or a gimmick?

Being just a one-year trial, if the XFL kickoff is successful then most likely it will be voted on to remain the NFL’s new kickoff. Any changes, no matter how small, will then be addressed.

This style of kickoff is slow to start, but rarely are there any touchbacks and touchdowns for that matter. But returns happen almost every kickoff. It does increase the receiving team’s starting field position a bit which the NFL is fine with since they are always looking to give the offense a little edge in all its rules.

Here at Dawgs by Nature, we assembled a team of willing writers to discuss their thoughts on the league using the XFL kickoff. It is radical and at first glance does not appear like it belongs in the NFL but is more of an Arena League ploy.

Editor’s note: Matt McCrane interview begins at the 4:37 mark

But with the XFL using it for 1.5 years, there is already data associated with the play that the NFL’s competition committee was able to review before they decided this was the best option going forward. The big thing is that the injury factor will become a lot less. Nobody wants to see players get hurt and attorneys get more involved in the game than they already are.

DBN has gone one step further. We invited former Cleveland Browns kicker Matt McCrane to discuss his thoughts about the NFL inserting the XFL kickoff into its special teams policy. McCrane played in the XFL for 1.5 years and was part of this aspect consistently and understands the play from the inside out. The XFL half-season was the pandemic year when the league closed after playing only five games.

Here is our kickoff review team:

*Matt McCrane

Starting kicker: DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL)

Played for the NFL Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, plus the Browns (2020-2021), XFL New York Guardians and DC Defenders.

McCrane is currently 8-8 in UFL field goal attempts this season including kicks of 58, 54, 50, and a game-winner of 49-yards.

*Thomas Moore

DBN Staff Writer

*Ken MacDonald

President: Ottawa (Canada) Browns Backers

*EZ Weav

DBN Staff

With the XFL kickoff, the majority of players are already downfield before the kick rather than have them run there while the ball is in the air. Is this designed for better returns or for safety?

Matt McCrane:

I think the NFL wants to encourage more returns AND reduce high impact collisions. It brings back an aspect of the game that fans have been missing for a long time.

Thomas Moore:

It is a combination of both. The NFL gets a lot of criticism over concussions and injuries, but they are doing what they can to make an inherently unsafe game as safe as possible. There is only so much you can do, however, but at least league officials deserve some credit for at least trying.

Potentially seeing more kick returns is a side benefit, but teams still have the option of kicking it into (or through) the end zone for a touchback, so the strategy side of it will also come into play more than it probably has in recent years.

There is a “landing zone” where the ball must be kicked into without going out of bounds. Will kickers aim at anything in particular, or just make sure the ball gets into this zone?

Matt McCrane:

This was a learning curve for our team last season. At the beginning of the year, we played very defensive as a cover unit. We allowed big returns quite a few times. If you watch our tape and look at the Pro Football Focus (PFF) data, we vastly improved the later half of the season. I credit Coach Gregg Williams who I’m sure you are familiar with. As the season went on, the starting point for our opponent started to have an affect on our defense. Coach Williams stepped in and wanted our cover unit to be more aggressive, avoid blocks, kick the ball deeper and wider and make tackles inside the 15-yard line. It became an important attacking play and the players enjoyed it. I think our tape is what NFL teams need to watch.

EZ Weav:

This is a really great question, I’m thinking: probably. You have to figure that these are essentially scrimmage plays now (or more close to them) and I’d imagine you’re going to see a lot more offensive and defensive linemen than have ever been on kicks, and as such the returns are going to be just like designed plays.

I would guess that if you feel like one side of your defense is stronger than the other, then I’d surmise that would be the general direction you’d try to kick it. But I can’t imagine it would be much of an advantage since the return team is going to be prepared for either direction (one would assume).

Some special teams coaches will teach their return unit in the setup zone to go and work off of the kickoff team and kind of react when to begin running. Is there any other strategy about when to begin?

Matt McCrane:

Kickoff return, or KOR, for this style of kickoff is very challenging. One on one, man on man. The rules are very advantageous to the kickoff unit because they can see the returner and direction of the kick. As a return unit, we had to communicate. That can be very difficult in an NFL environment.

Ken MacDonald:

The only two things I could think of is an audible sound from a returner when the ball is caught or silent count once the ball passes overhead when enough film has been taken of the kickers. Both are not great ideas, the audible might be unrealistic with crowd noise, especially on the road and the wind may make it unrealistic to come to a solid number for a standard silent count on the way a kicker kicks.

Over the last decade the NFL has tried to downplay the kickoff. By 2023, only 21% of kickoffs were returned. Kickers pride themselves on number of touchbacks thus eliminating any sort of return. Now, almost every kick will be returned. How will this change the kickoff play in general?

Matt McCrane:

It changes the dynamic drastically. There are a lot of teams in the NFL that want touchbacks and as you and I have discussed before, they want the bigger kickoff leg. You might see a trend shift to smaller, more accurate and directional kickers.

Ken MacDonald:

The down play of the kickoff allowed teams to focus more on offensive and defensive roster spots. When the kick off was prevalent some teams carried two kickers: a field goal kicker and a kickoff specialist. You can see it with the Browns in the anticipation of the rule change. Dustin Hopkins was absolutely clutch last year and the Browns picked up a third kicker in Cade York. Hopkins is another year older and wouldn’t it be great for him to concentrate on kicks let alone mitigate last year’s disaster of pulling a hammy chasing a returner down? Three kickers on the team? That is right with two possibly on the practice squad. Regardless of what you think, we can agree on the fact that York was consistent on booming kicks out of the field. Aside from kickers, the team may feel less reluctant to have a superstar in the return position, possibly in a dual situation with their star returner to add an element of explosiveness of trickery. The chess match is coming for the end of close game and time will tell if the yardage starts to pile up.

Photo by Fox Sports/UFL/Getty Images

On the surface, this style of kickoff appears to be more gimmicky than functional. Your thoughts?

Matt McCrane:

It was very functional and simple for us to understand. There are a few hiccups that were ironed out by the XFL officiating crews and Dean Blandino. He was very receptive to our feedback.

Ken MacDonald:

As the kickoff aspect of the game dwindled, the selfish part of me knew that as soon as a TD was scored the lack of action between that time and the receiving team’s offense getting on the ball for their possession allowed for me to grab a beer or get to the restroom. Maybe the gimmick will be beer sales will suffer. The old school fan in me thought immediately, it’s a gimmick, another advantage for the offense. No way this will be exciting. I long for the day when Ice Cube McNeil, Met the Jet, or Josh Cribbs could single handedly win a game but now – gimmicky or functional – maybe a healthy Nyheim Hines and Nick Chubb are dual returners with the game on the line and some kind of fake, pitch like a very spread out option read (if that makes sense) wins them a game Let’s see what special teams coach Bubba Ventrone can do with this new rule/feature to the game. Get the ball in the hands of the guys that make the game fun!

The game of football is about field position. Now, teams will begin well beyond the 25-yard line on every kickoff. Why would the league want to gift the offense this?

Matt McCrane:

It encourages scoring – period. Field position is so critical in the game of football and often overlooked by high school and college teams. I think the priority for the NFL is to bring back a once entertaining play without sacrificing player safety. This new kickoff rule has done that.

Thomas Moore:

They needed some way to incentivize the kicking team from simply kicking it out of the end zone for a touchback. Still, the difference is only five yards as the offense will now get the ball on the 30-yard line instead of the 25, so if your defense is anywhere decent you should not really fear those extra five yards.

Will the perception of kickoff returner suddenly become a team’s valued position?

Matt McCrane:

I think it has always been a team’s valued position. But this new kickoff rule will give players opportunities to make impact plays again.

EZ Weav:

I actually think this has a chance to revitalize the value of the running back position specifically, because these are now essentially scrimmage running plays. You’re probably going to need one-cut guys that can break tackles instead of just super-fast/shifty guys that could outrun people through a lane. In our case, maybe it makes sense to put a guy like David Njoku back there, because he’s proven he’s really hard to get down once he builds up a head of steam. The Baltimore Ravens could do this with Derrick Henry. Possibilities are intriguing but to answer the question I think the traditional returner model is going to change, maybe in a profound way.

Unfortunately, the kicker is undervalued. Will the position of kicker increase in importance because of the XFL kickoff?

Matt McCrane:

It will change what teams look for. There are a lot of combines and camps that focus on the bigger kickoff leg. That’s what has always grabbed the attention of scouts. I believe this rule will change the entire scouting process of kickers.

EZ Weav:

Don’t know that I’d necessarily agree with the notion that the kicker position is undervalued, but that can be its own discussion. I would say that this probably won’t move the needle on the position in terms of importance because there’s nothing especially important about what they’re being asked to do. Pretty much all of them can kick it out of the back of the end zone, so getting the ones that can consistently get it about 80% of that again doesn’t really seem like it’s that big of a deal.

In fact, I think there’s a good chance guys like Justin Reid become substantially more valuable than they otherwise are. Because the reality is once a returner gets past the scrum, it’s over. Even the most on-the-ball kicker is not going to be able to do anything one-on-one against returners who just got past a bunch of big-uglies. However if you’re an okay depth player on defense but you also kicked a little bit at some point in your life, you might have a shot to at least get in position to force a cutback or something and maybe the pursuit catches up.

It’s super interesting; the league decided to eat this entire elephant in one sitting. End of the day, I bet it all looks and feels really different but offenses are generally all still starting around the 25.

What is your overall opinion of the NFL using the XFL kickoff?

Matt McCrane:

I’m all for it! As I stated previously, the priority of the NFL is to bring back a once-entertaining play without sacrificing player safety. I think this will provide more opportunities for smaller, more accurate kickers.

Thomas Moore:

It feels like a solution in search of a problem. Were fans really all that upset about the decline in kick returns? Special teams coordinators, sure, but fans? And after watching the Browns return far too many kicks only to be tackled short of the 25-yard line in recent years, the idea of more kick returns does not fill anyone with confidence at the moment.

But like anything the NFL does, fans will adjust. It is going to look ridiculous in the preseason, but everyone will adjust the same way they did when the league added the two-point conversion or moved extra-point attempts back. This will be no different.

And if the Browns win a game this fall because of a kick return? Then this is one of the greatest rule changes in league history!