Leadoff: How the NFL will change kickoffs this year

Kickoffs will be different in the NFL this year after team owners adopted a series of rule changes Tuesday that are designed to preserve the play by making it safer.

At their spring meetings in Atlanta, owners approved on a one-year basis the changes proposed by the league’s competition committee in consultation with special-teams coaches.

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The changes will be reassessed after the 2018 season to determine if they have the intended effect of limiting high-speed collisions and reducing concussions. If they don’t, the NFL will try something else, up to and including elimination of kickoffs.

Here are five take-aways from the kickoff changes approved Tuesday:

> 1. Players on the kickoff team no longer will get running starts downfield because they will be allowed to line up no more than one yard behind the ball (the 34-yard line on kicks from the 35). In the past, they could line up five yards behind the ball (the 30-yard line on kicks from the 35).

> 2. At least eight of the 11 players on the kickoff return unit must be within a 15-yard “setup zone” prior to the kickoff, moving more players closer to the spot of the kick in order to reduce speed and space on the play.

> 3. No wedge blocks will be permitted. Previously, two-man wedge blocks were allowed.

> 4. A kickoff team must have five players lined up on each side of the kicker. In the past, it could have four players on one side and six on the other.

> 5. The receiving team won’t have to “down” the ball in the end zone for a touchback. It’ll be a touchback if the ball touches the ground in the end zone without being touched by the receiving team.

Here’s more from the NFL on the changes:

This story was written by Tim Tucker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  

Cox Media Group