While special teams is often referred to as the “third phase” of the NFL game, it’s also what starts, and oftentimes finishes, contests.
The New Orleans Saints have put a major focus on this area of the game for some time. Which is why last year’s step back was such a surprise. However, rebounding is the name of the game for this unit in 2026.
If the team wants to start somewhere, along with field goal percentage, it should take a long look at its return and coverage games, which had a negative impact on the team in 2025.
Last year, the Saints’ average starting field position was at their own 29.7-yard line. The ball now starts, thanks to the NFL’s new Dynamic Kickoff rule changes, at the 30-yard line when kicked out of the end zone.
The Saints tied for the No. 28 ranking in the league in starting field position, meaning it was more advantageous for opposing units to actually allow the Saints to return rather than giving them the 30-yard start.
That’s not what the Saints are accustomed to, a team that has fielded a number of elite kick returners.
The number also suggests that turnovers often flipped the field with the length to drive and that punts were often fielded deep within their own territory.
New Orleans consistently gave its quarterbacks long fields, relative to today’s standards.
The average starting field position was on the other side of the 30, 31.5 yards, with the best team starting at their own 32.8 in average — the Jacksonville Jaguars.
What makes this statistic stand out even more is that the average starting field position the Saints allowed (33.7) to their opponents was the highest since 1999 (34.4). Last year, the Saints ranked No. 31 in this metric.
This happened for a couple of reasons. The Saints often kicked touchbacks on kickoffs. Their 25 touchbacks ranked No. 3 in the NFL. But it is also about yardage allowed in returns. New Orleans allowed an average of 27.5 yards per kick return, No. 25 in the league.
Considering the Dynamic Kickoff’s landing zone is located outside of the endzone, it’s clear to see where the average return would grant a positive result. The team’s punting unit also often came up short with one of the lowest net punt yards averages in the league.
The returns prove to be more important than the touchbacks. The Los Angeles Rams kicked a whopping 59 touchbacks to lead the NFL, but were also No. 3 in starting field position allowed and gave up a league-best 19.5 yards per return in kickoffs.
From each angle of starting field position, offensive or defensive, the Saints came up short last year.
These are both statistics in which the Saints commonly ranked within the top-10, and often the top-5, since the 2017 season.
2025 was a decline for the special teams phase with a lot of player turnover for the units. New Orleans is surely hoping for 2026 to be a bounce-back year with plenty of player acquisitions and a second year for coordinator Phil Galiano to improve the approach.
