The NFL has legislated away kickoff return touchdowns to a striking degree. There have been just 34 total in the last five seasons; no more than 7 in any of those years. There were 23 in 2010 alone; that's how great a drop there's been. Not coincidentally, kickoffs were moved from the 30-yard-line to the 35 in March 2011.
Such touchdowns are rare enough that it's not the kind of thing you want to build too heavily into your fantasy rankings. But a slight bump for teams more likely to bring a kickoff back for a touchdown than others, so you can now move the New England Patriots to the head of that list.
New England swung a trade for Oakland's Cordarrelle Patterson yesterday. Patterson spent the first four years of his career with the Vikings, and he returned 5 kickoffs for touchdowns in those years. That's 1 more than any other team, even with Patterson in Oakland last season, and 3 more than all but three teams.
| KICKOFF RETURN TDS, LAST FIVE SEASONS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Tot |
| Minnesota | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Kansas City | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Baltimore | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Seattle | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| LA Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| New Orleans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Denver | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| New England | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jacksonville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Indianapolis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Chicago | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Miami | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Arizona | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Buffalo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| NY Giants | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pittsburgh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Detroit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dallas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Green Bay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NY Jets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cincinnati | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LA Chargers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| San Francisco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Patterson, in fact, has a chance to make a run at the all-time record for kickoff return touchdowns. Considering the other top guys were mostly operating during a more kickoff-friendly era of the NFL, that's impressive. Just 3 more TDs, and he'll tie Josh Cribbs and Leon Washington for the career lead. (Active players in bold.)
| KICKOFF RETURN TDS, CAREER | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | TD | Years |
| Josh Cribbs | 8 | 2005-2014 |
| Leon Washington | 8 | 2006-2014 |
| Mel Gray | 6 | 1986-1997 |
| Dante Hall | 6 | 2000-2008 |
| Ollie Matson | 6 | 1952-1966 |
| Gale Sayers | 6 | 1965-1971 |
| Travis Williams | 6 | 1967-1971 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson | 5 | 2013-2017 |
| Michael Bates | 5 | 1993-2003 |
| Timmy Brown | 5 | 1959-1968 |
| Percy Harvin | 5 | 2009-2016 |
| Devin Hester | 5 | 2006-2016 |
| Jacoby Jones | 5 | 2007-2015 |
| Terrence McGee | 5 | 2003-2012 |
| Justin Miller | 5 | 2005-2012 |
| Bobby Mitchell | 5 | 1958-1968 |
| Allen Rossum | 5 | 1998-2009 |
| Abe Woodson | 5 | 1958-1966 |
| Ron Brown | 4 | 1984-1991 |
| Andre Coleman | 4 | 1994-1998 |
| Andre' Davis | 4 | 2002-2009 |
| Jacoby Ford | 4 | 2010-2013 |
| Tony Horne | 4 | 1998-2000 |
| Brian Mitchell | 4 | 1990-2003 |
| Brad Smith | 4 | 2006-2014 |
| Cecil Turner | 4 | 1968-1973 |
| Tamarick Vanover | 4 | 1995-2002 |
| Darrick Vaughn | 4 | 2000-2003 |
| Jon Vaughn | 4 | 1991-1994 |
| Buddy Young | 4 | 1947-1955 |
| Ted Ginn | 3 | 2007-2017 |
| Cullen Bryant | 3 | 1973-1987 |
| Lynn Chandnois | 3 | 1950-1956 |
| Raymond Clayborn | 3 | 1977-1991 |
| Dennis Gentry | 3 | 1982-1992 |
| Dave Hampton | 3 | 1969-1976 |
| Ellis Hobbs | 3 | 2005-2010 |
| Tyrone Hughes | 3 | 1993-1998 |
| Ronney Jenkins | 3 | 2000-2003 |
| Terry Kirby | 3 | 1993-2002 |
| Michael Lewis | 3 | 2001-2007 |
| Lenny Lyles | 3 | 1958-1969 |
| Jerome Mathis | 3 | 2005-2007 |
| Mercury Morris | 3 | 1969-1976 |
| Chad Morton | 3 | 2000-2006 |
| Deion Sanders | 3 | 1989-2005 |
| Ron Smith | 3 | 1965-1974 |
| Vitamin Smith | 3 | 1949-1953 |
| Micheal Spurlock | 3 | 2006-2014 |
| LaRod Stephens-Howling | 3 | 2009-2013 |
| Steve Van Buren | 3 | 1944-1951 |
| Charley Warner | 3 | 1963-1966 |
| Dave Williams | 3 | 1977-1981 |
| Derrick Witherspoon | 3 | 1995-1997 |
The way the league is nowadays, Patterson will need to handle kick returns for several more years to catch Cribbs and Washington. But maybe.
--Andy Richardson