The league’s new kickoff rules will change many things for NFL teams, including what they look for in a returner.
Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub, one of the best in the business, said the rules have turned the kickoff into more of a punt play. The league made the changes in hopes of fewer high-speed collisions and thus fewer injuries.
“I think it’s going to be more like a punt [return] because there are going to be more single blocks,’’ Toub said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN. “You’re not going to have a point of attack where you’re hitting [the hole]. . . . It’s going to look more like a punt return.’’
Tyreek Hill, one of the NFL’s best punt returners, returned kickoffs for the Chiefs as a rookie in 2016. He averaged 27.4 yards and scored a touchdown on 14 kickoff returns.
The Chiefs, though, took him off kickoff duties after he became a starting receiver last season.
Kansas City has no plans to move Hill back to that role.
“Tyreek is a punt returner right now,’’ Toub said.