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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell likes what he has seen from the new Dynamic Kickoff rules so far this season.
Speaking at a fan forum in London before Sunday’s game between the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars (h/t ESPN.com), Goodell said based on the data they have through five weeks that the change is working.
“With that increase in returns, it’s giving us more data to determine whether we can do it more safely. It actually is incredibly promising. We’re seeing lower impacts that have led to less severe injuries and less number of injuries. So, I think it’s working,” he explained.
Goodell noted that just over 30 percent of kickoffs have been returned this season. This is up from a record-low 22 percent return rate during the 2023 campaign.
The league as a whole is averaging a record-high 26.5 yards per kickoff return, nearly three yards higher than the previous high-water mark of 23.8 set in 2011 and 2014. The average starting field position for teams is at the 29-yard line, compared to the 24-yard line in 2023.
There have already been two kickoff return touchdowns this season. Laviska Shenault Jr. did it most recently for the Seattle Seahawks against the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday night.
DeeJay Dallas of the Arizona Cardinals had the first one under the new rules in a Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
There were only four kickoff return touchdowns all last season, with the Houston Texans responsible for two of them.
Goodell went on to say this offseason he anticipates there could be more changes to the kickoff, including potentially moving the kick line back to make it more difficult for the ball to go out of the back of the end zone or have touchbacks that go out the back of the end zone start at the 35-yard line instead of the 30.
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