Inside the office of Ravens Senior Special Teams Coach Randy Brown is a massive white board covered in red writing.
The day before the preseason opener – and likely every day this summer – it was filled with information about the NFL's new Dynamic Kickoff rules.
There are notes on who will take what blocking assignment, and the top right corner is filled with a list of possible outcomes. It's all part of the process as Baltimore's special teams operation prepares for one of the league's biggest rule changes in recent times.
Kickoffs have gone from a good time for fans to get snacks to an unknown entering the 2024 season. The hope is to spark more excitement while emphasizing player safety.
The Dynamic Kickoff is a mix of the old kickoff and an offensive set, with tons of quirks in between. As a refresher, most of the return and kickoff team are within five to 10 yards of each other on the receiving team's side of the field, and they can't move until the ball is touched.
"It doesn't look like anything else that we've seen before," kicker Justin Tucker said.
There's still a lot to learn, and it will be a moving target all season, but the Ravens are doing everything they can to gain an advantage.
Everything You Need to Know About the NFL's New Dynamic Kickoff
The NFL will debut its new dynamic kickoff during Thursday's preseason game.
Randy Brown Is Playing a Big Role
The Ravens' special teams staff has spent the offseason dissecting everything there is to know about the Dynamic Kickoff, and they had a head start.
Brown was one of the handful of NFL coaches that helped write the rule, where he worked closely with Darren Rizzi (Saints), John Fassel (Cowboys), and Richard Hightower (Bears). In March 2023, Brown's group met with NFL leadership and decided that if touchbacks remained so frequent, there needed to be a change.
After the touchback rate jumped from 61% in 2022 to 77% last season, the group of coaches worked with the NFL and officials to create the rule.
"We've kind of had it from the start," Brown said. "... From our original plan, we've kind of seen the play morph into where it is this moment. I think the play's going to morph into something in two weeks, in two months, in two years. ... We're creating a play that's never happened in the history of the game."
One of the biggest rule adjustments came on where to spot a touchback. Brown and his group proposed the 35-yard line, but the NFL Competition Committee changed it to the 30, which is five yards further than last season.
With the Dynamic Kickoff on a one-year trial this season, moving it to the 35-yard line could happen if teams continue intentionally kicking the ball into the end zone. Brown pointed out that as kickers become more accurate on 50+ yard field goals, giving teams a free 35 yards will put them a couple of first downs away from a makeable kick, so coaches will be more inclined to put the ball in play.
For Brown, who's entering his 17th season as a special teams coach, he fought to keep the kickoff relevant because he "never wants to lose the foot in football."
"I know I don't have 25 more years to coach in this league, but I want to leave my mark," Brown said. "People can say, well, he was one of the guys who fought to keep the play in the game. Because it's easy to just throw your hands up and say, 'Oh, do whatever you want to do.'
"I think it's just one more change, that if you're going to do it, rip the Band-Aid off, let's do it. Let's do it and let's make it the best play that it can possibly be."
The Preseason's Importance
Ravens Special Teams Coordinator Chris Horton dove into XFL film all summer. The Dynamic Kickoff is based off the XFL's version, and although the two plays aren't exactly the same, it was all coaches had to study.
Horton watched the 350-ish returned kicks "a lot" over the offseason, but there's only so much to gather.
"That's not a lot of data when you're talking about trying to figure something out," Horton said. "... It's still not a lot considering how many kickoffs with the old rules you can go back and watch and you're like, 'The angles, this is it. This is the line.' ... You don't know. We just got to come out here and we have to keep on working on it."
That's what makes this year's preseason so important. Horton will see his team take live, in-game reps, which will help him get a true gauge on where they stand. That began Friday in the first preseason game against the Eagles. The Ravens won that battle, with nearly three yards of better starting field position and the best return of the game when Rasheen Ali nearly broke free before being taken down at the 36-yard line.
The Ravens have been studying the six kickoff returns in that game (and the other preseason games) every day since, picking apart what went right and wrong and making adjustments.
There have been tweaks to the kickoff before, but nothing close to the Dynamic Kickoff. Horton said the Ravens had a scheme for their kickoffs and kept it consistent over the seasons, but in 2024 everything will be different.
"This year, the kickoff, kickoff return, you really have no system, so you're trying to build a system," Horton said. "You have principles that will still apply to how you cover kicks, how we think the blocking will go, and those will carry over, but how you practice it is going to be completely different."
Even once the season begins there will be nuances to the play that continue to evolve.
"I think there's just a vast universe of possibilities for where this play can go, in my opinion," Brown said. "And sitting here [today], the play's going to look dramatically different, most likely, by the time we're playing in the Super Bowl in February."
How Will This Look?
Earlier this offseason, Tucker said he added weight in preparation for potentially being involved in more tackles on kickoffs. He said it with a laugh, but he wasn't totally joking.
In watching film, Tucker said he noticed kickers are more like free safeties on the play rather than a center fielder way back in case of emergencies. He figured it's better safe than sorry.
"I think the thought process is, no one necessarily knows exactly what to expect yet," Tucker said. "So might as well be prepared for anything. ... It just wouldn't make sense not to prepare for anything that could happen."
While Tucker's modest weight gain is legit, more of his focus has been on making sure he has a vast repertoire of kicks ready to deploy.
With the Dynamic Kickoff, control and accuracy are key. The ball must land between the goal line and the 20 to ensure a return, and Tucker has been practicing those shorter pinpoint kickoffs during training camp.
He stressed that he always makes sure all his kicks are ready, but this season has changed the way he prepared.
"In my mind, I'm going to be able to deliver the right ball whenever it's called upon," Tucker said. "... It's just as simple as making sure I have all the kicks ready to go."
On the other side of the kickoff, teams can have two returners. The Ravens signed Deonte Harty this offseason, a 2019 All-Pro returner that Baltimore thinks fits well into the Dynamic Kickoff, and have other potential return options in Ali, Tylan Wallace and others.
Head Coach John Harbaugh hasn't named any returners yet, and the different personnel back for kicks could change as the play grows.
As the season deepens, a lot more will come to light about the Dynamic Kickoff. But as Baltimore prepares for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 5, there's a feeling of confidence that they will be ready to go.
The Chiefs have a highly regarded special teams coordinator in Dave Toub who has been running his own experiments this summer, including having non-specialists kickoff.
It's a race to get the upper hand early, and the Ravens and Chiefs will be first off the tee.
"I can guarantee you, come Week 1, we're going to put the best play out there that we feel like, 'Hey, it's going to give us the best chance,'" Horton said.
