Kickoff Return Formations in the NFL

The intent of this article is to gain a general idea of what return formations in the NFL look like. It does sample kickoffs from every team, but not every kickoff from the season. 

Formations

6-2-2-1  

6-2-1-2 

6-2-1-1-1 (unbalanced)

5-3-2-1   

5-3-1-2

4/2-2-2-1

• 6-2-2-1 and 5-3-2-1 are the primary/base formations for most of the league.

• Depth, alignments, and splits tend to be slightly different depending on game situation and opposing kicker/coverage team.

6-2-2-1

6-2-1-2

6-2-1-1-1 (unbalanced)

5-3-2-1

5-3-1-2

4/2-2-2-1