There have been times in recent years when the NFL seemed ready to get rid of the kickoff entirely. There are too many injuries, including concussions, on such plays. At this point, more than 60 percent of returns result in touchbacks -- i.e., nothing happens. What's surprising is that there seems to have been a ripple effect on punt returns.
It's not surprising, with new legislation, to see that touchdowns on kickoff returns have declined over the last decade. As recently as 10 years ago, there were 23 touchdowns on kickoffs in a season -- close to 1 per team (2010). There were an average of 11 in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, too. Since then, it's been a steep decline, with no more than 7 in any of the last seven years, and just 5 league-wide in the 2018 season. Hardly worth factoring in fantasy drafts at all.
| KICKOFF RETURN TOUCHDOWNS, 2010-2019 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Tot |
| Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Baltimore | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Seattle | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| New England | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| NY Jets | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Buffalo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Miami | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Oakland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Washington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Arizona | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Chicago | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Denver | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Detroit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Indianapolis | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Carolina | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| LA Chargers | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| NY Giants | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Pittsburgh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| San Francisco | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Atlanta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cincinnati | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Green Bay | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jacksonville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| LA Rams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| New Orleans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tampa Bay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dallas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 23 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 91 |
What's surprising is that punt return touchdowns are also in decline, without any apparent reason. Maybe teams are employing more hands guys, preferring to avoid turnovers rather than get long returns, or coverage teams are getting better. Whatever the case, there have been four straight seasons of just 7-10 touchdowns on punt returns; only 7 in each of the last two years. The previous six years saw at least 13 touchdowns on punt returns each season -- nearly twice as many.
| PUNT RETURN TOUCHDOWNS, 2010-2019 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Tot |
| Chicago | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Kansas City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Baltimore | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Dallas | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Detroit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Philadelphia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Arizona | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Denver | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Green Bay | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| LA Rams | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Pittsburgh | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Buffalo | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Cleveland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Jacksonville | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| LA Chargers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Miami | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| New England | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Atlanta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Houston | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Indianapolis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| New Orleans | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cincinnati | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| NY Jets | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| San Francisco | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| NY Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oakland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Seattle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 13 | 20 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 124 |
Notably bad in these areas is Tampa Bay. The Bucs haven't returned a kick of any kind for a touchdown nine years in a row. The Raiders have just one return score in the last eight years. Atlanta has only 2.
If you're going to give any team a boost for its return game, the Super Bowl champs are the ones (not surprisingly, with Tyreek Hill, pictured, for some of those seasons, and Mecole Hardman now). Kansas City is one of two teams, along with Baltimore, to rank in the top 5 in both punt and kickoff return touchdowns over the last decade.
Bottom line: if you're participating in best-ball drafts now, or making some early defensive rankings for the 2020 season, best not to place too much emphasis on who has the best return teams. You're chasing very long odds of getting a touchdown on a return of any kind no matter who you pick. Slight boost to Kansas City, but that's about it.
--Andy Richardson