In 2013, Cordarrelle Patterson led the NFL in kickoff return average at 32.4, with 1,393 yards and 2 TDs on 43 kickoff returns.

In 2015, Patterson again led the league in return average at 31.8, this time with 1,019 yards and two scores on 32 returns.

In 2016, Patterson repeated as kickoff returner champion, averaging 31.7 yards per return on 25 returns.

In 2017, Patterson was on the verge of a three-peat. Through 14 games, Patterson was averaging 28.3 yards per kickoff return, giving him a slight lead on Rams returner Pharoh Cooper.

And over the last two weeks of the season, Cooper saw his kickoff return average drop, while Patterson had one more return for 29 yards. Therefore, Patterson must have threepeated in the category of average kickoff return, right?

Well, not exactly. Through 14 games, Patterson had 18 returns, or 1.29 per team game. He finished the year with 19 returns, or 1.19 per team game. The problem is that the minimum number of kickoff returns to qualify for the league crown is 1.25 per team game. So Patterson failed to qualify by one return; if he had returned one additional kickoff for even 11 yards, he would have three-peated.

Patterson had 19 of the Raiders 34 kickoff returns. The real problem is the era: we are no longer in an era where the minimum should be 1.25 kickoff returns per team game. Why? Last year, just 12 players qualified! In 2010, there were 39 players who qualified, but in 2017, the limit would have needed to be dropped to single digits to get 39 players qualifying for that crown.

So what happened? Well, before the 2011 season, the NFL moved the kickoff from the 30 to the 35-yard line, which resulted in more touchbacks and fewer kickoff returns. And before the 2016 season, the NFL moved the starting field position after a touchback from the 20 up to the 25-yard line. Combined, those two changes have had quite the impact on the number of kickoff returns. The graph below shows the number of kickoff returns had by the average team in each season since 1950, with non-16 game seasons prorated to 16 games.

(You may recall the rule change in 1994 moving kickoffs back from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line resulted in quite the spike in 1994).

Whether or not kickoff returns are a good thing is up to each individual fan to decide. But one thing is clear: having a minimum threshold of 1.25 kickoff returns per team game to qualify for the kickoff return crown is going to drastically reduce the number of eligible players. There were just 10 qualifying players in 2016, and that number has been less than 15 in each of the last three seasons.