The Dallas Cowboys are set to be one of the biggest winners from NFL rule change that appears imminent ahead of the 2025 season
The NFL is still tinkering with its kickoff rules after the so-called "dynamic kickoff" didn't achieve the results the league expected during the 2024 regular season. And the Dallas Cowboys are set to greatly benefit from it. Let's recap: The league wants more return attempts because touchbacks are boring. Duh. As a result, they made touchbacks […]
The NFL is still tinkering with its kickoff rules after the so-called "dynamic kickoff" didn't achieve the results the league expected during the 2024 regular season. And the Dallas Cowboys are set to greatly benefit from it.
Let's recap: The league wants more return attempts because touchbacks are boring. Duh. As a result, they made touchbacks result in offenses taking the field at the 30-yard line, hoping this would deter kicking teams from trying to kick the football into oblivion. That didn't quite happen in 2024, as the league's return rate was on par with the previous five years.
Now, the NFL is proposing the ball is set at the 35-yard line for touchbacks, a small yet impactful change. Keep in mind, when the dynamic kickoff was invented for the XFL in 2020, touchbacks were set at the 35-yard line.
Suddenly, the trade-off becomes much more difficult for kicking teams. Allowing the offense to start at the 35-yard line is less enticing because tackling them deeper into their territory becomes much more doable.
According to the NFL's Competition committee, the league is projecting the return rate to skyrocket to 60-70%. In the XFL, the kickoff return rate sat at 93% in 2020 (spot of the kick was different). The rule change still needs to be voted through but given the league's goals, it appears the change imminent.
KaVontae Turpin and the Cowboys are set to benefit from this rule change if it happens
All of the above is great news for the Cowboys, who happen to have one of the best returners in the NFL. In three years in the league, Turpin has become a two-time Pro Bowler and was named first-team All-Pro in 2024.
He led the league with 904 kick return yards and had a 99-yard touchdown return against the Washington Commanders.
Turpin's speed is elite at the NFL level and he'll get to show it more often if the touchback rules indeed change later in the year. Though he's expected to take on a bigger role on offense, the majority of his contributions are still likely to happen as a return specialist.
Now granted, the Cowboys lost special teams coordinator John Fassel to the Tennessee Titans and are replacing him with Nick Sorensen. Fassel was considered a strong asset for returns as he was on the NFL's committee to adapt the kickoff rules. However, the Cowboys players on special teams will be largely the same so expect the transition to be smooth.
