We received big news this year that the NFL had finally decided to do away with the horrid ‘one-helmet rule’ that was enforced back in 2013. The rule stated that NFL teams had to use the same color helmets the entire year. It led to a lack of creativity throughout the NFL, taking away cool alternate and throwback helmets. As a self-proclaimed uniform geek, I was obviously ecstatic when I heard this news. It’s been exciting to see the influx of new alternate helmets and the return of old-school helmets released over the past few months. For the most part, I love all of the new helmets just because they’re new and different. But, like anything else, some are better than others. So here is my personal ranking of the 13 new alternate and throwback helmets.
13. Washington Commanders
When Washington unveiled their new rebrand to become the Commanders, there were plenty of reactions to the controversial rebrand. Along with their new matte-red helmets, they were the first team to release an alternate helmet. It’s a black helmet to go with their new alternate black uniforms (which are very nice), but it’s an interesting and unusual idea and design. Rather than having the typical logo on the side of the helmet, they decided to go a little outside the box by putting a yellow “W” logo right on the front. It’s a cool idea, but it just looks really weird at the moment. I have a feeling it might grow on me, but for now, I’m not a huge fan of it.
12. New Orleans Saints
The Saints are a historic franchise that doesn’t typically change it up very much, so when they came out with a new black helmet, I was both surprised and impressed. I think it’s a nice helmet that will look good, but I feel like the execution could have been slightly better. The most intriguing part of the helmet is the striped pattern going over the top. The graphic pattern is reminiscent of the Seattle Seahawks, with the iconic ‘Fleur-de-lis’ logo making up a stripe that gets smaller as it goes down the back of the helmet. I give the Saints points for creativity, but I think a simpler or smaller stripe going down the middle would have looked sharper.
11. Dallas Cowboys
America’s Team is bringing back a throwback white helmet they’ll wear with alternate uniforms on Thanksgiving. The helmet has a simple star logo on the sides with two navy blue stripes going down the middle and a gray facemask. It’s a super-clean look in my opinion, but just a bit too similar to their classic current helmets. The Cowboys are set to debut these helmets against the New York Giants on Thanksgiving, so let’s see if they’ll play as sharp as they’ll look against their NFC East rivals.
10. Philadelphia Eagles
Although most fans were hoping to see some throwback kelly green uniforms for the Eagles this year, they’ll have to wait another season. But in the meantime, the Eagles unveiled alternate black helmets to go with their alternate black uniforms. I’m a big fan of the Eagles’ current black uniforms, and this new helmet will look great with them, but their current helmets are already a very dark green, and the new black helmets don’t really look very different. I was also hoping for some green accents on the helmets, but they are just completely black and white.
9. New York Jets
Just like the Eagles, the Jets introduced a black helmet that will go with their alternate black uniforms. It’s matte-black with a shiny green logo and white outline. It’s a pretty simple helmet that will go well with their uniform, but like the Eagles, it lacks a lot of creativity. I think this one gets a slight edge over the Eagles only because they added a little more color. I think it would look better if they made the logo white with a green outline, but nonetheless, it’s a good-looking helmet.
8. Arizona Cardinals
Black seems to be the trend for alternate helmets this year, and the Cardinals were the latest team to come out with a new black helmet. I think this one has an edge over all of the other black helmets because it works better with the Cardinals logo than it does with the other teams. For starters, the red cardinal blends perfectly with the black helmet, with the addition of some clever shading to make it look sleeker. Secondly, the helmet isn’t completely black, as if you look closely, there are touches of red. I think this makes the helmet look better and gives it some character, bringing to mind a desert sunset.
7. New York Giants
The Giants were another team to bring back throwback uniforms and helmets, going back to the 90s with the same uniforms worn by the great Lawrence Taylor. The helmet is navy blue with the classic GIANTS font and the iconic red stripe over the middle with a white facemask. It’s interesting because the jerseys themselves are a lighter shade of royal blue, but somehow the helmets still look beautiful with the jerseys. Hopefully, it’s only a matter of time before the Giants switch to these uniforms full-time because it’s a really good look.
6. Chicago Bears
The Bears, like New Orleans, are a classic organization that doesn’t like to change it up very often. But they’ve done just that, introducing new alternate orange helmets they’ll wear three times. The Bears have never worn orange helmets, so it might be a little strange seeing them worn on the field, but I love the creativity from Chicago. They’ll wear these helmets with their alternate orange jerseys, so there’s going to be a lot of oranges, but the overall look should be pretty good.
5. Houston Texans
While the Texans won’t win many games this year (sorry, Texans fans), at least they’ll look good on the field. Houston unveiled shiny red helmets to pair with their alternate red jerseys this upcoming season. I feel like they should switch to these helmets full-time because they are just that clean. Sadly, the Texans will only wear these ‘battle-red’ helmets for one game, a Thursday Night matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
4. Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta is kicking it back to the Deion Sanders days with throwback red helmets. The helmet features their old-school falcon logo with a black stripe, white accents, and a gray facemask. The helmet as a whole looks phenomenal, but the slight hint of gold on the middle stripe is the cherry on top. The helmet is just so clean, and I can’t wait to see Kyle Pitts catching touchdowns in it.
3. New England Patriots
Ladies and gentlemen, Pat the Patriot is back. After a long nine years, the Patriots were able to bring back the iconic red throwback jerseys with white helmets. The helmet itself features the Pat Patriot logo with a blue and red stripe. The jersey is also beautiful, featuring a blue and white shoulder stripe. When the one-helmet rule was revoked, it was kind of a given that the Patriots were going to bring these uniforms back, and I am happy to see it.
2. Cincinnati Bengals
Dear Bengals, thank you for listening to us. When Cincinnati first unveiled their all-white Color Rush uniforms back in 2016, I think I speak for everyone when I say that matching white-tiger helmets were needed to complete the look. Finally, it’s happening. The Bengals helmets look just like their regular helmets (which are the best in the league) except the orange is replaced by ice-white. Wow. These all-whites are going to look so nice on the field. The thought of seeing Joe Burrow throw touchdowns to Jamarr Chase in the all-white uniforms gives me goosebumps.
1. Carolina Panthers
Yeah, the Bengals’ helmets are icy, but they aren’t better than these. On Tuesday, July 19th, the Panthers decided to mess around and drop the best helmets in the entire league. The black helmets feature teal stripes going down the middle and a teal Panthers logo. Carolina already had the best color scheme in the league, and with these helmets, they hit the jackpot. I’m begging the Panthers’ front office to please make these the standard helmets because they can’t wear these beauties only once this year.
