NEW YORK -- The NFL had one of its most radical changes in years last season, changing the kickoff in the way football has never seen it before. The dynamic kickoff was created to resemble a scrimmage play by aligning players on both teams closer together and restricting movement to reduce space and speed, essentially creating less high-speed collisions and promoting more returns in the game.

The first year of the dynamic kickoff was an experiment, hoping to provide a higher percentage of returns across the league. The league got what it intended, as return rate improved from 21.8% in 2023 (under the old kickoff format) to 33%. The average starting field position went from 25.6 to 30.1 while the average length of return improved from 23.0 to 27.5.

While the league did see more returns,

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