Came across this 2017 video from SB Nation that goes into the merits of the kickoff. In summary, the producer thinks there's virtually no merit. I don't agree with all of his points, namely that all kickoff returns, even ones for touchdowns, are boring. But he presents some rather intriguing statistics, even if they might be presented specifically to support his thesis. Field position is apparently not as important when it comes to scoring as you'd think. I do wonder if it affects who scores next, though. He mentions Schiano's plan for kickoffs, which 11W covered here, and makes a case for why placing a fair catch at the 25-yd line isn't much safer, and you learn random facts about the NYC subway system. If you've got 16 minutes, it's worth a watch. 

I came across that 11W article linked above while searching for dupes before posting this and it turns out Johnny Ginter actually posted this video in the comments. Only a handful of comments were after that so maybe not that many people saw it.