2016 NFL Average Kickoff Distance Leaders

The average length of a specialist's kickoffs in yards, from the kicking spot to where the ball was caught or crossed the goal line. Onside kicks are left out.

A touchback counts the full distance to the goal line, so a deep kick and a kick into the end zone score the same. In 2016, Roberto Aguayo (65.3) led NFL kickoff specialists in average kickoff distance, ahead of Kai Forbath (64.9) and Dan Bailey (64.7). 34 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 30 kickoffs). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 63.8.

NFL rule from 2016 to 2023: a kickoff touchback started the receiving team at its 25 (from 2023 a fair catch inside the 25 did too), so a deep kick into the end zone was the safe, standard result. Kickoff Points Added accounts for the rule, so it is the fair way to compare kickoff specialists across leagues and seasons.

Final 2016 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Avg dist	Kickoffs	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Roberto Aguayo	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	65.3	76	68%	24	−0.3
2	Kai Forbath	Minnesota Vikings	64.9	36	53%	17	+0.8
3	Dan Bailey	Dallas Cowboys	64.7	90	63%	33	+2.1
4	Greg Zuerlein	Los Angeles Rams	64.6	58	62%	22	+4.5
5	Graham Gano	Carolina Panthers	64.6	85	74%	22	+3.7
6	Matt Bosher	Atlanta Falcons	64.6	105	62%	40	+6.5
7	Connor Barth	Chicago Bears	64.4	61	43%	35	+4.5
8	Andrew Franks	Miami Dolphins	64.4	73	58%	31	+1.3
9	Pat McAfee	Indianapolis Colts	64.4	88	56%	39	+3.7
10	Stephen Hauschka	Seattle Seahawks	64.3	85	64%	31	−3.4
11	Caleb Sturgis	Philadelphia Eagles	64.3	84	55%	38	+8.8
12	Chandler Catanzaro	Arizona Cardinals	64.1	81	64%	29	+1.8
13	Dustin Hopkins	Washington Commanders	64.0	90	72%	25	−6.3
14	Ryan Succop	Tennessee Titans	63.9	79	73%	20	−4.5
15	Sam Martin	Detroit Lions	63.9	75	69%	22	+0.6
16	Blair Walsh	Minnesota Vikings	63.9	40	48%	21	−5.7
17	Mike Nugent	Cincinnati Bengals	63.9	62	45%	34	+3.1
18	Cody Parkey	Cleveland Browns	63.7	54	63%	19	+0.1
19	Josh Lambo	Los Angeles Chargers	63.7	89	75%	20	−6.2
20	Wil Lutz	New Orleans Saints	63.5	89	55%	40	−2.2
21	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	63.5	88	53%	41	−13.2
22	Cairo Santos	Kansas City Chiefs	63.4	84	57%	35	+6.8
23	Jason Myers	Jacksonville Jaguars	63.4	73	82%	13	−6.3
24	Robbie Gould	New York Giants	63.4	42	45%	22	−3.8
25	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	63.3	76	67%	24	+0.3
26	Sebastian Janikowski	Las Vegas Raiders	63.3	89	48%	46	+10.3
27	Bradley Pinion	San Francisco 49ers	63.1	31	65%	10	−0.8
28	Stephen Gostkowski	New England Patriots	63.0	94	55%	41	+16.7
29	Nick Folk	New York Jets	63.0	70	56%	31	+2.8
30	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	62.8	80	65%	27	+2.6
31	Nick Novak	Houston Texans	62.7	70	33%	46	−7.5
32	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	62.5	79	63%	26	−7.2
33	Dan Carpenter	Buffalo Bills	61.5	67	42%	39	−0.9
34	Phil Dawson	San Francisco 49ers	58.5	39	10%	34	+10.0

All 2016 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Average Kickoff Distance in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017

More 2016 NFL kickoff specialist leaderboards

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