NFL targets special teams rounds 4–7

The 2026 NFL Draft’s last four rounds were not just about depth charts. They were also about kick returns, coverage units and field position. (nfl.com 1) (nfl.com 2) Baltimore made the clearest special teams move of Day 3, taking Michigan State punter Ryan Eckley at No. 211 overall in Round 6. The Ravens lost first-team All-Pro punter Jordan Stout in free agency and now hand the job to the first punter drafted in this class. (nfl.com) (espn.com) Eckley gives Baltimore a proven field-position weapon. He led the Football Bowl Subdivision with 48.5 yards per punt in 2025, finished his career at 47.6, and had 45% of his career punts travel at least 50 yards. (baltimoreravens.com) (nfl.com) The league’s rules help explain why teams keep spending late picks here. Since owners made the dynamic kickoff permanent and moved touchbacks to the 35-yard line, the NFL has been pushing clubs away from automatic touchbacks and toward more live returns. (nfl.com) (espn.com) That rule change already altered roster math before this draft. The NFL said the 2024 return rate jumped to 32.8% from 21.8%, and competition committee chairman Rich McKay said the league projected a 60% to 70% return rate once touchbacks moved to the 35. (nfl.com) (espn.com) That makes Rounds 4 through 7 a different kind of marketplace. Teams are not usually finding franchise quarterbacks there; they are finding players who can win hidden-yardage snaps on kick coverage, punt return and the back end of the roster. (nfl.com) (cbssports.com) The Ravens were not alone in using late picks on specialists and role players. New England used Day 3 capital to move around the board after already trading a fourth-rounder to secure tackle Caleb Lomu, while Kansas City’s class was built around filling roster holes quickly after trading All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie seven weeks earlier. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) NFL.com’s team grades also repeatedly flagged Day 3 picks as future special teams contributors, a reminder that late-round value is often tied to immediate kicking-game work before offense or defense. Arizona linebacker Karson Sharar was one explicit example in Chad Reuter’s roundup. (nfl.com) The pattern is familiar, but the incentives are sharper now. With more kickoffs expected to be returned, the players drafted late on Saturday have a faster path to playing time than their draft slots suggest. (nfl.com) (espn.com)