New NFL rule change could save struggling Kansas City Chiefs 2022 NFL draft pick from the chopping block in 2025
One member of the Kansas City Chiefs stands to benefit from the NFL's latest tweak to kickoff returns. A year after fundamentally altering the special teams play, the league announced on Tuesday that the competition committee had voted to move touchbacks from the 30-yard line up to the 35-yard line. The goal? Decrease the number of […]
One member of the Kansas City Chiefs stands to benefit from the NFL's latest tweak to kickoff returns.
A year after fundamentally altering the special teams play, the league announced on Tuesday that the competition committee had voted to move touchbacks from the 30-yard line up to the 35-yard line. The goal? Decrease the number of touchbacks and make the kickoff a more exciting play. They want to incentivize further away from teams simply kicking touchbacks, where things trended after last year's changes.
The NFL projects that this change will increase the kick return rate from less than 33% in 2024 to 60% and 70% in the 2025 season.
Chiefs' special teams coordinator Dave Toub's kick return unit and whichever players are responsible for returning kicks in 2025 will be more critical to where Patrick Mahomes and the offense will start with the football. It also means that one specific player who has struggled to this point in his NFL career stands to benefit.
Chiefs wide receiver Skyy Moore could stick around as a kick returner in 2025
There's little denying that the 2025 NFL season is a sink-or-swim moment for the former 2025 NFL draft pick. The former Western Michigan product has caught 43 passes for 494 yards and one touchdown in 36 regular season game appearances across three years.
Of course, Moore took on a new role during the 2024 NFL season when the league initially passed the new kickoff return rules. He competed during training camp for the starting kick returner role, but he earned the second string role behind Mecole Hardman on the Week 1 53-man roster.
During the regular season, Moore returned just two kicks for 43 yards (21.5 average) before a core muscle injury ended his season in Week 8. However, during the preseason, Moore returned three kicks for 101 yards, averaging 33.7 yards per return. That's good for a 28.8-yard-per-return average on five attempts.
Moore won't be without competition for the kick returner role, but Hardman is now a member of the Green Bay Packers. Chiefs' third-year WR Nikko Remigio will be his primary competitor when OTAs begin in May. Remigio had 21 kick returns during the regular season and postseason for Kansas City, averaging 28.4 yards per kick return. Then there's FB Carson Steele, who had five returns for 138 yards, averaging 27.6 yards per kick return.
If Moore can simply retain his role as one of the team's top two kick returners in its heightened significance, it'll be enough to help him stick around for the final year of his rookie contract in 2025. We already know that the coaching staff trusts Moore as depth on offense, but meaningful contributions on special teams only add value. And if he can stay healthy, the sky is the limit.
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