Vikings Making a Push to Upgrade Special Teams Units

As the Minnesota Vikings get ready for the start of training camp, one area that may be getting a little more focus for improvement this year is special teams. No, the Vikings aren’t getting a new kicker or a new special teams coach, but they have made a number of under the radar moves to acquire good core special teams players and perhaps even a new punter.

Vikings’ Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels has a good reputation in the league, but measured by results, the Vikings special teams units have been mediocre at best in recent years. Last season, the Vikings’ special teams ranked 27th in DVOA– a measure of efficiency. They ranked 30th in both 2023 and 2022.

Last season the Vikings were around average in a lot of special teams metrics like field goals, extra points, and kickoffs. But they were near the bottom in punt team metrics. They were closer to average on kickoff returns- largely because they didn’t do many and took touchbacks instead. The same was true with kickoff coverage. When they did return kickoffs, they were near the bottom of the league in average yards per return.

So, between that and the new kickoff rule this season, the Vikings are looking to upgrade their special teams units this offseason.

New Kickoff Rule Is the Catalyst

The NFL has changed and made permanent the ‘Dynamic Kickoff’ rule it began last season. The biggest changes are:

1. A touchback when the kick lands in endzone in the air or lands beyond the endzone is placed at the 35-yard line. Previously it was the 30-yard line.
2. A touchback when the kick lands first in the landing zone (between the 20-yard line and goal line) before the end zone is placed at the 20-yard line.
3. Kicks that go out of bounds or don’t reach the landing zone are placed at the 40-yard line.
4. Kicks that land in the landing zone and remain there must be returned.

The Dynamic Kickoff rule last season proved to be a dud as teams were content to kick the ball in the endzone and accept the opponent getting the ball at the 30-yard line. Changing it to the 35-yard line (and a landing zone touchback being placed at the 20) creates the incentive for both sides to return the kick. That means kicking teams won’t kick it to the endzone and are betting they can stop the returner before the 35-yard line. For the return team, on a kick that lands in the landing zone they’re betting that by returning it, they’ll start somewhere beyond the 20-yard line, which is where they would start if they let the kick go into the endzone and down it.

So, suddenly the league may go from very few kickoff returns to very few touchbacks. That means kickoffs are now a real play that will be impactful, which in turn means kickoff and kickoff return teams will be impactful.

The Vikings Are the Team Most Impacted by the Kickoff Rule Change

If you add up the total number of actual kickoff returns (as opposed to touchbacks) in Vikings’ games last season, they had the fewest of any team in the league (28). They had among the highest touchback rates for both kickoffs (5th highest) and kickoff returns (2nd highest). The combined result was that the Vikings participated in the fewest number of actual kickoff returns, including both return team and coverage team kickoffs, of any team in the league.

So, given the Vikings largely avoided actual kickoff returns in favor of touchbacks last season in both coverage and return units, they will need to be prepared for a dramatic increase (like a 4-5x increase) in the number of actual kickoff returns they participate in this season.

Other Special Teams Unit Upgrades Important Too

Beyond kickoffs, the Vikings are looking to upgrade their punt teams and field goal/PAT teams too.

Vikings’ Special Teams Coach Matt Daniels and Kevin O’Connell seem happy with kicker Will Reichard last season, who did well apart from missing time due to injury and a couple injury-related misses; and with two-time First-Team All-Pro long snapper Andrew DePaola.

But punter Ryan Wright has been given competition this off-season in the form of Oscar Chapman, an Australian who punted for Auburn the last five seasons and was a UDFA acquisition. Wright rebounded from a sophomore slump last season but was still roughly league average. Perhaps the biggest knock on Wright’s performance is that 50% of his punts are returned, which is among the highest percentages in the league. That can be a function of placement on the field but also the punt coverage unit and the Vikings are looking to improve both.

The Vikings have moved on from punt returner Brandon Powell given his low punt return average, and have also moved on from two of the players who actually returned a kickoff for the Vikings last year- Cam Akers and Myles Gaskin. Ty Chandler remains an option but my guess is it’ll be someone else. None of them were good last season.

From an Expected Points Added (EPA) analytical perspective, starting field position and opponent starting field position has a quantifiable impact on scoring over the course of a game and a season. It may not be enough to change the outcome of a game, given all the other factors, but it does impact margin of victory/defeat and occasionally does change the outcome of a game.

From a kickoff and punt coverage perspective, holding an opponent to starting field position inside their ten-yard line actually results in the kicking/punting team being more likely to score the next points than the receiving team.

Overall, if you consider punt and kickoff returns/coverage as a factor in starting field position, it makes a significant difference in scoring. For example, last season teams averaged 2.07 points per drive and the average starting field position was the 30.1-yard line. Teams that had a worse starting field position generally averaged fewer points per drive while teams that started in better than average field position generally averaged more points per drive. Of course the quality of the team’s offense (and defense) has a significant impact in those results, but there is a fairly high correlation between starting field position and average points per drive.

33rd Team did a study of the impact of special teams on success in the NFL and some of the results may surprise you. For example, punt units have a bigger impact on special teams performance than field goal/PAT or kickoff units.

The Vikings Special Teams Were a Liability Last Season

There are different measures of special teams performance out there besides DVOA mentioned above, from team PFF grades to box score stats, but when it comes down to yards per attempt metrics, the Vikings didn’t fare that well. For example, the Vikings averaged:

• 40.3 net yards per punt attempt, which ranked 26th.
• 43.6 net yards per opponent punt attempt, which ranked 28th
• 6.8 yards per punt return, last in the league.
• 24.4 yards per kickoff return, second-to-last in the league.

The Vikings were one of only ten teams to have a punt blocked, but even if you exclude the blocked punt, the Vikings ranked 22nd in net yards per successful punt attempt at 41.0 yards. On the other side, if you exclude blocked punts, the Vikings allowed 44.2 net yards per successful opponent punt, which ranked 31st.

And when it came to kickoffs last season, well, the Vikings basically punted. By that I mean they were content to kick it in the endzone for a touchback and down it in the endzone themselves for a touchback. Kickoffs had a 72.15% touchback rate- 5th highest in the league- while the Vikings themselves had touchbacks on 83.17% of kickoffs- 2nd highest in the league.

And while there is some merit to the Vikings’ approach to kickoffs last season- essentially removing kickoffs as a competitive play- it doesn’t suggest the Vikings had much confidence in their special teams units to do better than 30-yard starting field position on either side of the play.

Players that Could Upgrade the Vikings’ Special Teams

Given the potential for ‘hidden points’ by winning field position battles over the course of a game and season, the room for improvement over last season, and the new and permanent kickoff rule changes, the Vikings seem to have focused more on improving their special teams units this year. Here are some notable acquisitions that could help upgrade the Vikings special teams units.

Oscar Chapman

Chapman will compete with Ryan Wright for the punter and holder jobs. He’s an Australian native who punted for Auburn the last five seasons. He’s got a wicked banana punt in his arsenal first introduced to the NFL by Johnny Hekker. It causes the punt to have a weird trajectory with a horizontal end-over-end spin, making it more difficult to track and catch. I don’t know that he has a bigger leg than Wright, but the competition may come down to punt placement and consistency as much as length and hangtime. Wright has had 50% of his punts returned, which is one of the higher rates in the league and something to be avoided as much as possible.

Eric Wilson

Wilson has been a core special teamer for the Packers the last couple seasons, playing on every unit except the field goal/extra point kick unit. He has a lot of experience as an eight year special teams veteran who’s always graded well and is something of a captain/coach on the field for younger players on special teams. He would be an upgrade over Kamu Grugier-Hill last season.

Tavierre Thomas

Thomas was an elite core special teamer for Tampa Bay last season logging over 400 speical teams snaps including over 200 snaps on kickoff/return teams and over 100 on punt return/coverage units. He had eight tackles and a PFF grade of 90.5. Thomas was a gunner on the punt coverage unit and a jammer on the punt return unit. He was also an outside guy on kickoff coverage and return units.

Jeff Okudah

Okudah didn’t play special teams much when he was a starter, but last year with Houston he played 90 snaps on special teams mainly as a gunner and jammer and also off the edge on the field goal blocking unit and did a good job- although he looked better as a gunner than a jammer. In any case he could be a good addition to the Vikings special teams units in some capacity, including kickoff coverage.

Silas Bolden/Rondale Moore/Tai Felton/Myles Price/Isaiah Rodgers

These are likely the main competitors for the punt and kick return jobs. Bolden, Moore, and Price were brought in primarily to compete for these roles. Upgrading these spots is probably top of the list for the Vikings and so there is likely to be a lot of competition. Matt Daniels said he’d like to see Rodgers as a kick returner, which he’s done in the past, but I’m skeptical whether O’Connell and Flores would want a starting cornerback returning kicks and risking injury. That hasn’t been something they’ve done in the past.

I suspect they’d be happy if Bolden won the competition, as he’s perhaps the most dynamic of the bunch. But he did have a couple muffs so they’ll want to be sure he doesn’t have any trouble in that area. Bolden is a candidate for punt returner first, but like the others could be a kick returner as well.

Existing Players that are Likely to be Core Special Teamers

Brian Asamoah (if he makes the roster), Bo Richter, C.J. Ham, Jay Ward and Josh Metellus were core special teamers last season and I expect they will be again this season. Ivan Pace did not get as many special teams reps last season after being a core special teamer his rookie year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a more expanded role on special teams. He is a fierce competitor on special teams. He graded well his rookie year as well, but not as well last season because he had a couple of penalties.

Bottom Line

The Vikings have not fared as well on special teams as they have on offense and defense since Kevin O’Connell came to Minnesota. Last season was no different. The Vikings lacked dynamic kick and punt returners and seemed content with touchbacks and fair catches in their return game. But not getting those return yards makes a difference in field position that is a hidden cost of poor special teams units.

The Vikings also cycled through a number of players at the key gunner and jammer positions on punt teams, but nobody really stood out. Guys like Tavierre Thomas and Jeff Okudah could help solidify those positions. The jammer spot was a particular weakness which makes it difficult to return punts- if you don’t block the gunner then they’ll be there waiting when the returner catches the ball, often forcing a fair catch.

Lastly, it’s good that the Vikings brought in competition at punter for Ryan Wright. It’s unclear who will win that competition, but Oscar Chapman does bring some skill to the position and if he proves to have better placement and consistency, he may win the job.

But in a competitive league with every team looking for an advantage anywhere they can find one, the Vikings need to get more from their special teams units, many of which seem to be afterthoughts. The apparent focus on bringing in some long overdue special teams talent is certainly welcome this offseason. And the new kickoff rule will likely bring a lot more “real” plays for special teams units to handle, so the talent and skillsets need to be there or the Vikings could find themselves worse off in starting field position and the hidden value that special teams provides when it comes to scoring.

Poll

The Vikings’ special teams ranked 27th in DVOA last season. This season they will rank…

• 5%

  Top 5

  (1 vote)

• 0%

  6-12

  (0 votes)

• 50%

  13-18

  (10 votes)

• 40%

  19-24

  (8 votes)

• 5%

  25-32

  (1 vote)

20 votes total

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