Tyreek? Berrios? Dolphins have many options as NFL approves kickoff overhaul
ORLANDO — The NFL just gave the Dolphins something to think about.
Their opponents, too.
Team owners voted this morning 29-3 to pass a sweeping kickoff rule on an experimental basis in 2024. It will look nothing like NFL kickoffs have ever looked and take time for fans to get used to, but owners were satisfied it accomplished the league’s objective of reintroducing the kickoff into the game while not exposing players to undue injury risk.
In short, while the ball will continue to be kicked off from the 35-yard line, most of the other players will line up within about 5 yards of one another, with the coverage team on the opposition’s 40-yard line and blockers on their 35. With significantly less of a running start in the “set-up zone,” collisions won’t be as fierce, which hopefully satisfies safety concerns.
Return men will be on their 5 and must return kickoffs within the “landing zone.”
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What does it mean for the Dolphins? That’s what head coach Mike McDaniel and special teams coordinator Danny Crossman have to figure out, now that so many options are added to their arsenal.
The Dolphins just re-signed return man Braxton Berrios, but that’s not where the options end. With speedsters such as Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De’Von Achane around, if coaches believe they can safely use them on special teams now, it could turn a play that had become a virtual automatic touchback into must-see action.
"You may see some players on kickoff returns and kickoffs that you haven't seen," said Darren Rizzi, the former longtime Dolphins special teams coordinator now with the Saints who helped spearhead the rule change. "Those guys that maybe you were afraid to play because of injury risks? You're going to see those guys out there. I think that's the beautiful part about this."
The change has special teams coordinators around the league trying to figure out the ideal body types to take advantage of the change, whether it be the coverage team, blockers or return specialists.
Rizzi believes the Dolphins should benefit.
"Listen, I think the more weapons you have, the better this model is going to be for you," Rizzi said. "I could tell you right now, ahead of time, that someone's going to get five or six more touches a game, whoever they use back there. But if you had players like Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle and Raheem Mostert, all those guys, those are dangerous players."
Hill returned kickoffs for Kansas City only in his rookie season. But he was effective in doing so, averaging 27.4 yards per return with one touchdown. Berrios was an All-Pro return man in 2021, averaging 30.4 yards with one TD on kickoffs. But last season, he had only 18 returns for a 24.5 average with so few kickoffs able to be returned. And in 2022, Mostert had 25 kickoff returns for a 20.1 average.
The competition committee's Rich McKay called this the "most drastic" change, optically, he has ever been a part of in the NFL.
"This is not the football we all grew up with," McKay said.
Rizzi said it "absolutely" will result in more big plays. He called kickoffs "must-see TV" and said it will signal the end of automatic beer runs because fans know they won't miss anything on kickoffs.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal. Click here to subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Tyreek Hill kick return? Dolphins have options with NFL kickoff change
