2017 NFL Kickoff Points Added Leaders

Each kickoff's expected-points result compared with the league-average kickoff, added up over the season. Onside kicks are left out. It credits the kicker and the coverage team together.

Positive means he did better than an average kickoff. In 2017, Stephen Gostkowski (+9.2) led NFL kickoff specialists in kickoff points added, ahead of Blair Walsh (+9.0) and Sam Martin (+6.7). 35 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 30 kickoffs). The median qualified kickoff specialist had +0.2.

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 2017 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Points	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns
1	Stephen Gostkowski	New England Patriots	+9.2	98	63.5	41%	58
2	Blair Walsh	Seattle Seahawks	+9.0	77	62.7	51%	37
3	Sam Martin	Detroit Lions	+6.7	50	64.8	50%	25
4	Mike Nugent	Dallas Cowboys	+5.9	36	62.8	50%	18
5	Cody Parkey	Miami Dolphins	+5.8	62	63.8	45%	34
6	Dan Bailey	Dallas Cowboys	+5.4	56	64.4	57%	24
7	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	+2.9	90	63.1	51%	43
8	Dustin Hopkins	Washington Commanders	+2.4	40	64.3	73%	11
9	Phil Dawson	Arizona Cardinals	+1.9	75	61.4	47%	40
10	Chandler Catanzaro	New York Jets	+1.3	67	64.0	67%	22
11	Nick Rose	Washington Commanders	+1.3	45	64.9	71%	13
12	Ryan Succop	Tennessee Titans	+1.3	79	64.6	59%	32
13	Bradley Pinion	San Francisco 49ers	+1.1	79	64.1	81%	14
14	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	+1.0	74	63.6	66%	25
15	Giorgio Tavecchio	Las Vegas Raiders	+0.9	63	64.2	76%	15
16	Wil Lutz	New Orleans Saints	+0.8	91	65.3	64%	32
17	Aldrick Rosas	New York Giants	+0.7	60	62.2	43%	32
18	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	+0.2	88	63.4	63%	33
19	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	−0.4	69	63.3	67%	23
20	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	−0.5	83	62.7	51%	40
21	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	−0.9	78	64.2	78%	17
22	Patrick Murray	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	−1.4	57	62.6	25%	43
23	Josh Lambo	Jacksonville Jaguars	−1.5	55	59.8	40%	33
24	Greg Zuerlein	Los Angeles Rams	−1.9	95	63.9	77%	20
25	Nick Novak	Los Angeles Chargers	−2.1	34	59.5	26%	25
26	Randy Bullock	Cincinnati Bengals	−2.4	65	62.6	46%	34
27	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	−2.9	68	62.0	53%	32
28	Stephen Hauschka	Buffalo Bills	−3.1	70	61.2	53%	33
29	Graham Gano	Carolina Panthers	−3.6	82	64.6	85%	12
30	Kai Forbath	Minnesota Vikings	−4.2	88	63.5	50%	44
31	Matt Bosher	Atlanta Falcons	−4.4	82	64.4	60%	33
32	Connor Barth	Chicago Bears	−5.3	37	64.2	46%	20
33	Zane Gonzalez	Cleveland Browns	−6.9	52	62.4	63%	19
34	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	−8.1	66	62.3	68%	21
35	Jason Myers	Jacksonville Jaguars	−8.4	34	61.9	76%	7

All 2017 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Kickoff Points Added in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2016

More 2017 NFL kickoff specialist leaderboards

Other 2017 NFL rankings

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