ENGLEWOOD, Colo — One reason why the Broncos can be much better than expected in 2024 – besides the fact it won’t be all that difficult considering the oddsmakers have placed their over/under win total at 5.5 – is the new kickoff rule.
“We’re excited about it,’’ Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Saturday following his team’s second rookie minicamp practice at their Dove Valley headquarters.
The Broncos were mediocre overall last season but quite good at special teams, particularly in the return game. Thanks to rookie returner Marvin Mims Jr., the Broncos were No. 8 in kickoff returns – Mims had one of the league’s four touchdowns – and No. 1 in punt returns.
The new kickoff return rule will blend the characteristics required of a good kickoff and punt return game.
Upon watching the new kickoff play in action for the first time Saturday during a drill at the Broncos’ rookie minicamp, two things stood out.
One, many of the kicks will be lower, half-liners with the idea of having them bounce into the receiving area between the 20-yard line and the goal line. Those long-distance boots out of the end zone will be less frequent as the ball will now come out to the 30-yard line on touchbacks, not the 25 as before.
Two, even though the 10 non-kicker players on the kickoff team are now moved up to other side’s 40-yard line, the fact they can’t move until the kicked ball hits the ground or is touched by the receiving team means the returner is going to have a sizeable head start into the field of play before they reach the first wall of defense. There are two returners lined up between the goal and 20-yard lines.
Whether they were rookies or not, on multiple return players the returner got past the 20-yard line before seeing a defender.
“It’s a completely different play,’’ Payton said. “The two deep backs are going to have to have good ball skills, a little bit of a shortstop, third baseman, if you will, because we’re not just going to get these easy to catch high kicks anymore. We’re going to get these shots in the gaps [line drives], if you will.’’
The returners – 7th-round rookie Devaughn Vele was one of the good ones Saturday – did have to field the kickoffs on a bounce or two, which is not easy when bounces aren’t true from balls that have points.
If the bouncing kick sneaks through to the end zone, that’s good for the kickoff team because the offense will have to start at its own 20-yard line. If the kickoffs are fielded short of the 20, that’s bad for the kickoff team because the offense gets the ball out to the 40.
So, there are some decent yardage incentives as Broncos special teams coaches Ben Kotwica, Mike Westhoff and Chris Banjo strategize for their kickoff returns.
“I think it creates a unique skillset for the returners,’’ Payton said. “Then I do think the coverage and blocking units will get a little bit bigger [player] because we’re reducing the amount of space we’re running in.’’
With both sides having most of its players line up a yard apart at the receiving team’s 40, a fast cornerback or linebacker who can run may be replaced by an extra offensive lineman.
“I don’t know what the average touchdown—it’s been a while—but you might get a couple a year,’’ Payton said.
Again, there were just four kickoff returns last year: six in 2022.
There hasn't been double-digit kickoff touchdown returns in the NFL since 2012.
“You’re going to get double-digit touchdown returns [in the NFL in 2024],'' Payton said. "You’re going to see a lot more plays, and I think that was the intention of the rule.”
This is good news for the Broncos because they have Mims, and they have Kotwica, Westhoff and Banjo coaching up special teams. The Broncos will need one more returner and the 6-foot-4 Vele, who returned punts for Utah two years ago, will get a chance to compete to line up alongside Mims.
In summary, there should be considerably more returned kickoffs in 2024, and the returners should have more space at the start.
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