The NFL’s new dynamic kickoff has created a new dynamic for coaches like Sean McVay. The Los Angeles Rams will open the season on Sunday Night Football at Detroit with their top two running backs returning punts and kickoffs, respectively.
Fantasy owners, take note. When Detroit punts at Ford Field on Sunday (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), Rams starter Kyren Williams will return. And when Detroit kicks off, backup running back Blake Corum will be the lone Rams player moving in the “landing zone.”
McVay revealed the extra duty for Williams last week after the team waived return man Xavier Smith in the final roster reduction. But the Rams’ additional plans for Corum on kickoffs didn’t surface until the team released its Week 1 depth chart.
“Kyren Williams is going to be our punt returner,” McVay said last week. “It’s another opportunity for him to get touches and impact the game. You feel comfortable with that because of the confidence in Blake Corum and Ronnie Rivers being able to spell him if need be.”
Al Michaels said this preseason he hasn’t been as excited to see NFL kickoffs since Hall of Famer Devin Hester roamed the end lines. If Corum or other players emerge as Hester-like threats, will that change strategy?
Will head coaches like McVay and Detroit’s “cover your mouth” Dan Campbell simply kick off through the end zone and give opponents the ball on the 30? Don’t count on it.
For months, special-teams coordinators have geeked out with visions and strategies to attack the new kickoff. But they’ve kept those plans under wraps during the preseason. We’ll see them unveiled beginning tonight in the Ravens-Chiefs opener.
Obviously, Matthew Stafford has a bevy of offensive weapons, including the receiver who just completed the best rookie season in league history, Puka Nacua, and a former Offensive Player of the Year, Cooper Kupp. Stafford also has a tight end who looks like he walked off the set of Game of Thrones.
The kickoff is safer and certainly more exciting, something to watch as the season unfolds.