Five players to watch with new NFL kickoff rules

The NFL is making dramatic changes to its kickoff rules for the 2024 season in an effort to not only make them safer for players, but to also increase the number of returns and bring that play back into the game. 

Kickoff teams will be lined up five yards from each other, only the kicker and returner are allowed to move before the ball is touched by the returner and touchbacks are punished more harshly for the kicking team. The end result will be more returns and, potentially, more big returns.

It will also be impactful for some individual players around the league.

So let’s take a look at five players to keep an eye on this season with the new rules in mind. 

Justin Reid, DB, Kansas City Chiefs

Reid is going to be fascinating because the Chiefs are contemplating using him as a kickoff specialist to not only preserve kicker Harrison Butker and protect him from injury that could come from making tackles, but also because the strategy puts an extra defender on the field to cover kicks. 

Reid has experience kicking the ball — he’s actually done it in games — and could be a really unique weapon on the Chiefs’ special teams unit. If this works, it could open the floodgates for teams to try and find position players who can also kick. 

Cordarrelle Patterson, WR/RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Patterson is, statistically speaking, one of the best kickoff returners in NFL history, and the Steelers wasted no time in signing him as a free agent following the approval of the new rules. 

It also helps that he has a history with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith as a running back and wide receiver. But the special teams game is where Patterson has a chance to make his biggest impact in Pittsburgh. 

It could also be a significant impact. Given the state of the Steelers offense in recent years, they have needed field position to generate any of their attack. Having a kickoff return specialist who can potentially flip the field could be a game-changer for a team dealing with two new quarterbacks (Russell Wilson and Justin Fields) and a new offensive coordinator (Smith) and is short on big-time playmakers on offense. 

Daequan Hardy, DB, Buffalo Bills. 

The Bills drafted Hardy, primarily a defensive back, in the sixth-round in 2024, but he is a potential wild card in the special teams game. 

He might be undersized as a DB (5-foot-9, 182 pounds), but he has elite athleticism and made a huge impact as a punt returner at Penn State, returning two punts for touchdowns in 2023. 

He was not used as frequently on kickoff returns, but the potential is there, and it might be his ticket onto the field as a rookie. 

Justin Tucker, Kicker, Baltimore Ravens

So much of the emphasis on the new rules has turned the discussion toward returners. But kickers are still going to play a vital role in this, and as the best kicker in the NFL right now, there is still going to be an opportunity for Tucker to shine. 

While he is known primarily for his accuracy, clutch gene in big moments and booming leg to kick touchbacks under the old rules, he is also a sensational directional kicker who can place the ball with pinpoint accuracy. 

There is still going to be value in that when it comes to being able to pin returners in a corner of the field, drop it deep enough into the “target” window without putting it into the end zone and still keeping it in the field of play.

Keisean Nixon, DB, Green Bay Packers

Even before the new rules, Nixon was a difference-maker for the Packers in the kickoff return game. The Packers returned the ball more than any other team in the league the past two years, while Nixon led the league in return yards each season with multiple 40-plus yard returns. 

They re-signed him this offseason to a significant contract (three years, $18M), indicating that they figure to give him a big role in their secondary, but the potential impact on returns is a huge bonus. 

With the new rules not only adding more returns to the game, but also potentially making them easier, having one of the best returners in the league is going to be a huge edge for the Packers.