Sports
How the new kickoff rules opened doors for some of the league’s most dynamic players
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The NFL wanted to add excitement to the game.
As a result, on a list that is represented by some of the league’s premiere players like Bijan Robinson, Jonathan Taylor and Christian McCaffrey, it’s Tennessee Titans rookie Chimere Dike that sits on top.
Dike and the Dallas Cowboys‘ KaVontae Turpin are among the NFL’s top five in all-purpose yards thanks to the kickoff rules changes in 2024 before they were slightly tweaked in 2025 — an incentive to bring back the return game. It gave players like New York Jets return man Isaiah Williams a better chance of making the roster. It has also helped increase the value for veterans like Turpin, who signed a three-year, $13.5 million contract extension in March.
The 2024 rule changes introduced the new dynamic formation to increase returns and boost safety (43% reduction in concussion rates) because players are aligned closer to each other to reduce high-speed collisions. The league also moved the touchback spot from the 20-yard line to the 30. However, the leaguewide return rate of 32.8% was still the league’s lowest since at least 2000, and the touchback rate of 64.3% was the league’s highest over the same period.
So the league moved the touchback spot to the 35-yard line in 2025, and data has shifted. Teams have elected to put the ball in play rather than drill it deep in the end zone for a touchback. Through Week 14, the kick return rate has surged to 77.4%, more than doubling last season’s 32.8% rate, and through the first four weeks, the league saw its highest rate (78.3%) in 19 years at the time.
For players like Dike and Turpin, they are being asked to handle kick and punt return duties while also being a part of the offense. Having such an involved role is demanding for any player.
Dike has had to step up at times as a receiver, where he has 34 receptions for 284 yards and three touchdowns. Turpin has done the same, with 21 catches for 286 yards and a touchdown.
“Not many people can do kick return, punt return and [play] receiver too,” Titans special teams coordinator John Fassel said. “[Dike] gets the ball thrown to him, punted to him and kicked to him. He’s an incredibly valuable weapon because he can do all of that.”
Entering Week 15, Dike was leading the league in all-purpose yards (1,984), kick return yards (1,323) and yards per punt return (19.9). He’s on pace to pass Lionel James (2,535 in 1985) for fourth in all-purpose yards in a single season since 1941, and he has an outside shot at the all-time record (2,696) set by Darren Sproles and to pass former Titans wide receiver Derrick Mason’s number of 2,690, which is second all time.
“His all-purpose yards are all earned,” a surprised Fassel said when informed of Dike’s record pace.
Although the kick return average is down from last season (25.9 yards from 27.6), the change has resulted in more total return yards (42,613 and counting from 25,385). The league has also seen 91.4% of the returns go beyond the 20-yard line, the most over the past 25 years.
“[Dike’]s really excelled as a returner, and I think he has done some really good things as a wide receiver,” Mason told ESPN. “He’s learning how to play the game from a special teams standpoint, how to see the field as a returner. So he’s going to be able to operate on offense in spaces that would be hard for some of the other wide receivers to do. He’s used to finding holes and isn’t afraid of contact.
“He’s a strong runner. He breaks tackles, which is why he’s a good returner. All those things are good for him. He may end up being the steal of the draft [Round 4, pick 103] because he’s coming on as a receiver. With his return skills, he’s going to be a guy that, to me, will be a weapon like Percy Harvin.”
AS FOR WILLIAMS‘ path, he was signed off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad on Sept 10. Williams had a nightmarish game against the Miami Dolphins in Week 4. It was a Monday night game where he fumbled on a kickoff, and he fielded a punt at his own 3-yard line at the end of the game, ruining any chance of a long drive and comeback.
The Jets cut Williams a few days later, but they re-signed him to the practice squad on Oct 6. He was saved by first-year Jets coach Aaron Glenn, who crossed paths with Williams when he signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in April 2024 before the Bengals claimed him off the practice squad that November. Glenn always had an affinity for Williams, who was promoted to the active roster on Oct 18.
Glenn called Williams’ return to the team, “A great redemption story.” Since his second chance with New York, Williams has two touchdowns on punt returns, becoming the third Jet in history to do so in the same season. He and Dike are the only two players to have a 70-yard return on a punt and kickoff.
“I feel like all of it was really a blessing,” Williams told ESPN. “Looking back at it, I learned and grew from it, but I found out on Friday [that I was cut]. You go through that [Miami] game and you practice the next three days — Wednesday, Thursday, Friday — and you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m about to have an opportunity to redeem myself.’ Then you come out of practice on a Friday, realizing you got cut.
“In my head, I’m like, ‘Dang, I might be done for the year. I might be on somebody’s practice squad.’ When I signed back, my biggest thing was, ‘I’m going to come back and just compete, work. Whatever happens, happens.’ Then I ended up getting an opportunity.”
Williams joined Dike, New England Patriots returner Marcus Jones, and Jacksonville Jaguars returner Parker Washington as the only players to have at least two punt returns for a touchdown. This is the first year since 2019 in which at least one player has had multiple punt returns for a touchdown in a season.
TURPIN FORCED HIS way onto the Cowboys’ roster as a return man in 2022 after toiling in the Indoor Football League, Fan Controlled Football League, Spring League and European Football League from 2019 to 2021. His breakthrough came in 2022 when he was named the USFL’s Most Valuable Player in its inaugural season.
“He came in and tried it out,” said Fassel, who was Turpin’s special teams coordinator with the Cowboys at the time. “We signed him, and he was at practice that same day.”
Turpin scored two touchdowns in the second preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers. The first was on a 98-yard kickoff return in the first quarter, and the second was on an 86-yard punt return in the second quarter.
“It was like, ‘Well, he’s a returner. Get him out of the game,'” Fassel said. “He made the team in like two weeks.”
Fassel said Turpin’s vision made him one of those returners he gave the freedom to veer away from the direction the play was called. For instance, if there was a return right and Turpin saw a lane open to his left, he had the green light to cut it back and make a play.
“I learned a lot from him, where I had to make sure I don’t ever tell Turp where to run,” Fassel said with a smile.
At 5-foot-9, 173 pounds, Turpin’s toughness and courage stood out to Fassel and his assistant special teams coach, Rayna Stewart, when they were in Dallas. Dike (6-1, 196 pounds) is bigger than Turpin, and Stewart sees the same traits in the Titans’ returner.
“It takes a lot of courage to go back there and be willing to run through the smoke or to the ring of fire,” Stewart told ESPN.
Rookie returner Myles Price‘s 1,548 all-purpose yards rank seventh in the league, and his Minnesota Vikings are set to face Turpin and the Cowboys on Sunday.
Price will try to keep pace with Dike and Turpin (1,620 yards), as the three are the only players who’s primary yardage in the top 10 for all-purpose yards comes from returns, but unlike Dike and Turpin, Price is solely a return man at this point in his career.
“It’s pretty cool to think about [leading the NFL], but as [Fassel] puts it, ‘Stats don’t matter until the end of the year,'” Dike said. “At the end of the year, it would be a cool moment because coming into the league, you try to make an impact.”
NFL Nation reporters Rich Cimini and Kevin Seifert contributed to this report.
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Josh Weinfuss
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Jordan Reid
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Jordan Reid
NFL draft analyst
- Jordan Reid is an NFL draft analyst for ESPN, providing in-depth scouting on the nation’s top pro prospects. Jordan joined ESPN in 2021 and also contributes to SportsCenter and ESPN Radio. He played quarterback at North Carolina Central University and then went on to coach there from 2014-18.
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Ben Solak
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Ben Solak
ESPN
- Ben Solak joined ESPN in 2024 as a national NFL analyst. He previously covered the NFL at The Ringer, Bleeding Green Nation and The Draft Network.
Multiple Authors
TEMPE, Ariz. — After being without a head coach for almost a month, the Arizona Cardinals finally have their choice.
Arizona announced the hiring of 38-year-old Mike LaFleur on Sunday, ending a search that looked similar to previous ones by the Cardinals. As they were in 2023 when they hired Jonathan Gannon, they were once again the last team to make a hire after nine other head coaching vacancies were filled. And for the sixth time in the past 19 years, they hired a first-time NFL coach.
They also kept their pattern of alternating between offensive- and defensive-minded head coaches. LaFleur spent the past five seasons as an offensive coordinator, two with the New York Jets and three with the Los Angeles Rams. Gannon was a defensive-minded coach. He was preceded by Kliff Kingsbury, an offensive coach, who was preceded by Steve Wilks, a defensive coach, who was preceded by Bruce Arians, an offensive coach.
Arizona signed LaFleur to a five-year contract as he sets out to bring Arizona back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Cardinals reporter Josh Weinfuss and NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid break down what the hire could mean for quarterback Kyler Murray and for the Cardinals’ upcoming draft. And NFL analyst Ben Solak provides a grade.
Why Mike LaFleur?
Weinfuss: LaFleur is highly regarded around the league for his offensive acumen. And he represents a branch of the Sean McVay tree, which carries a great deal of cache.
LaFleur is the fourth McVay OC to become a head coach, joining Mike’s brother Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers, Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings and Liam Coen of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The three others led their teams to the playoffs.
LaFleur runs a West Coast style of offense, which would be Murray’s third different offensive style in his eight NFL seasons — should he still be around come OTAs.
Did the Cards wait too long and miss out on the top choices?
Weinfuss: It’s hard to argue that they didn’t, but general manager Monti Ossenfort said during his postseason news conference that Arizona was going to take its time.
It might not have been a matter of waiting too long and missing out on their top choices for the Cardinals, as opposed to not being as attractive of a destination as other teams. That’s mainly because of uncertainty at quarterback, facilities that have consistently received low grades in the annual NFLPA report cards and an owner in Michael Bidwell who has been famously frugal.
Where waiting this long to hire a head coach can and, likely, will hurt the Cardinals will be in hiring a staff. With LaFleur being the last coach hired this cycle, his pool of assistants to hire has been shrinking by the day.
What does this mean for Murray’s future with the Cardinals?
Weinfuss: That’s still to be determined. Murray’s contract situation is well known: He’s under contract until 2028 and has already been guaranteed $39.8 million for 2026, so there are two possibilities for Murray: Let LaFleur pick his guy, which, as an offensive-minded head coach, may be the smartest move, or Bidwell will require Murray to stay on the roster because of all the money he’s paid him for this coming season.
LaFleur hasn’t always been dealt the easiest of hands with quarterbacks. In San Francisco, he had C.J. Beathard, Nick Mullens, Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer, and in New York he had Zach Wilson. Murray is a step above them talent wise, but LaFleur, who had a front-row seat for Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles the last three seasons, also has worked with an elite QB.
How can LaFleur boost his roster at No. 3 overall in the draft — and will the pick come on offense?
Reid: This roster needs help in multiple spots, so the Cardinals could go in a few different directions — and focus on either side of the ball.
Right tackle is one clear hole on the roster, and either Spencer Fano (Utah) or Francis Mauigoa (Miami) would make a lot of sense. Fano has great movement traits, while Mauigoa is a physical mauler.
But the Cardinals might instead look to add an edge rusher opposite Josh Sweat. Keep an eye on the powerful Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami) and explosive David Bailey (Texas Tech). They both know how to get after the QB; both players had 71 pressures in 2025, tied for second most in the FBS.
How would you grade this hire?
Solak: B-. The Cardinals — the last team to fill its head coaching vacancy — clearly did not get their preferred candidate, as they announced the hiring of LaFleur only minutes after it was reported that Klint Kubiak was taking the Raiders job.
LaFleur is a chip off the old Kyle Shanahan block, having spent time as the 49ers’ passing game coordinator under him before taking the offensive coordinator job with Robert Saleh and the Jets. LaFleur never got the plane off the ground with Zach Wilson in New York, and will now be in charge of another young quarterback’s developmental arc, assuming Arizona moves off Kyler Murray and onto a new signal-caller.
There’s a solid ceiling here, as LaFleur is from a prolific coaching tree. But it’s hard to get too excited about what feels like a very run-of-the-mill hire.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday expressed hope that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would work towards a “mutually acceptable resolution” after the government denied permission to the national side for a match against India in T20 World Cup 2026.
In a statement, the cricket governing body noted the government’s statement, in which it said that Pakistan would play the tournament but skip their game against India.
“While the ICC awaits official communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), this position of selective participation is difficult to reconcile with the fundamental premise of a global sporting event where all qualified teams are expected to compete on equal terms per the event schedule,” the ICC said.
The cricket-governing body added that such “selective participation undermines the spirit and sanctity of the competitions” built on sporting integrity, competitiveness, consistency and fairness.
The ICC said that it respected the roles of governments in matters of national policy, however, it added that the decision was not “in the interest of the global game or the welfare of fans worldwide, including millions in Pakistan”.
“The ICC hopes that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem, which it is itself a member and beneficiary of,” the ICC stated.
The cricket-governing body asserted that its priority remained the successful delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, saying it should also be the responsibility of all its members including the PCB.
The statement follows Pakistan’s announcement that its team would participate in the tournament but would boycott the match against arch-rival India.
The decision came following a meeting between PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026,” the government said in a post on X.
“…however, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India.”
Kansas shooting guard Darryn Peterson and BYU forward AJ Dybantsa loom as the projected top two picks in the upcoming NBA draft. They are the precocious cream of what projects to be one of the best NBA drafts — particularly in the top 10 — in the past generation.
Who will be No. 1? ESPN polled 20 NBA scouts and executives to get an early vibe, and the results indicate that there will be a rigorous debate right up to June’s draft.
Peterson received 12 votes and Dybantsa eight for the top spot. With No. 13 BYU visiting No. 14 Kansas on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), it will mark the first collegiate matchup between the two stars.
“It’s Darryn Peterson for me,” a veteran scout told ESPN. “He makes things look so effortless, it’s unbelievable. His shotmaking is unmatched. He’s the closest thing to Kobe Bryant I’ve seen since Kobe in terms of shotmaking and ability to create his own shot. He’s not the same athlete as Kobe, but no one is. He’s really special.”
Few of the scouts and executives polled indicated the choice was easy.
“It’s so close,” a veteran NBA executive told ESPN. “I’m saying 51% to 49%, just barely. I just feel like there’s a little bit more potential with AJ Dybantsa as a player who makes others better. But if you call me on March 1, I could tell you that I changed my mind.”
The NBA is descending on Lawrence, Kansas, this weekend for some additional empirical evidence.
At least 32 NBA front office personnel from 17 teams are attending the game, with seven general managers/decision-makers expected to be among them. (Also slated to attend is Atlanta Hawks owner Tony Ressler.)
Some teams are sending multiple scouts and executives, including a majority of the front office staffs of both the Hawks (five attendees) and Indiana Pacers (six attendees). Both the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards are sending three reps.
Multiple NBA sources told ESPN that they are eager to see how Peterson looks after missing a game against Kansas State last Saturday with an ankle sprain. Kansas coach Bill Self has said he anticipates Peterson to play, and the injury has not been considered long term.
Peterson missed nine games over two separate stretches earlier in the season with a hamstring issue. With the ankle injury costing him a game, it means that he has missed half of Kansas’ games this season. He has also been managing a cramping issue.
“I don’t like the drama of playing and not playing,” said one scout, who chose Peterson as his No. 1 pick. “But he’s a scoring menace. He’s just a killer offensively.”
Dybantsa is listed at 6-foot-9 and 210 pounds. Peterson is 6-foot-6 and 205 pounds. It’s uncertain if they will often match up directly with each other on the floor Saturday, but they will certainly be compared and debated in the upcoming months.
The core of the debate comes to Peterson’s rare offensive upside against Dybantsa having more athleticism and two-way upside. Multiple scouts and executives mentioned having both Duke‘s Cam Boozer and North Carolina‘s Caleb Wilson in the conversation about the top pick, but none picked those players as their preference for No. 1.
One scout summed up his Dybantsa pick this way: “He’s the only one who has a chance to be elite on both ends.”
Another said about Peterson: “I think he can be a championship-level shot creator in the NBA.”
Peterson is averaging 21.6 points per game in 27.2 minutes. He is also averaging 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists and shooting an impressive 42% from 3-point range.
Dybantsa is scoring 23.6 points per game, snags 6.7 rebounds and dishes 3.6 assists. He has played in all 20 of BYU’s games and is shooting 31.8% from 3-point range.
No one is debating the talent at the top of this draft, as college basketball is having a freshman renaissance this season. This draft is both elite at the top and deep, with freshman stars such as Houston‘s Kingston Flemings, Louisville‘s Mikel Brown Jr., Tennessee‘s Nate Ament, Arkansas‘ Darius Acuff Jr., Arizona‘s Koa Peat, UConn‘s Braylon Mullins, Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr. and Illinois‘ Keaton Wagler giving the sport an adrenaline shot of young talent.
“It is extra deep with high-end talent,” said a veteran scout. “This draft will hold up historically as one of the better ones in the last 20 years.”
Grading Mike LaFleur’s hire, eyeing what’s next for Cards
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