2017 NFL Kickoff Returns Allowed Leaders

Kickoffs the receiving team brought out of the end zone. More returns mean more chances for a big return, but also more chances to be tackled short.

Compare with return yards allowed. In 2017, Stephen Gostkowski (58) led NFL kickoff specialists in kickoff returns allowed, ahead of Kai Forbath (44) and Chris Boswell (43). 59 kickoff specialists qualify.

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	Returns	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Points
1	Stephen Gostkowski	New England Patriots	58	98	63.5	41%	+9.2
2	Kai Forbath	Minnesota Vikings	44	88	63.5	50%	−4.2
3	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	43	90	63.1	51%	+2.9
4	Patrick Murray	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	43	57	62.6	25%	−1.4
5	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	40	83	62.7	51%	−0.5
6	Phil Dawson	Arizona Cardinals	40	75	61.4	47%	+1.9
7	Blair Walsh	Seattle Seahawks	37	77	62.7	51%	+9.0
8	Randy Bullock	Cincinnati Bengals	34	65	62.6	46%	−2.4
9	Cody Parkey	Miami Dolphins	34	62	63.8	45%	+5.8
10	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	33	88	63.4	63%	+0.2
11	Matt Bosher	Atlanta Falcons	33	82	64.4	60%	−4.4
12	Stephen Hauschka	Buffalo Bills	33	70	61.2	53%	−3.1
13	Josh Lambo	Jacksonville Jaguars	33	55	59.8	40%	−1.5
14	Wil Lutz	New Orleans Saints	32	91	65.3	64%	+0.8
15	Ryan Succop	Tennessee Titans	32	79	64.6	59%	+1.3
16	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	32	68	62.0	53%	−2.9
17	Aldrick Rosas	New York Giants	32	60	62.2	43%	+0.7
18	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	25	74	63.6	66%	+1.0
19	Sam Martin	Detroit Lions	25	50	64.8	50%	+6.7
20	Nick Novak	Los Angeles Chargers	25	34	59.5	26%	−2.1
21	Dan Bailey	Dallas Cowboys	24	56	64.4	57%	+5.4
22	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	23	69	63.3	67%	−0.4
23	Chandler Catanzaro	New York Jets	22	67	64.0	67%	+1.3
24	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	21	66	62.3	68%	−8.1
25	Greg Zuerlein	Los Angeles Rams	20	95	63.9	77%	−1.9
26	Connor Barth	Chicago Bears	20	37	64.2	46%	−5.3
27	Zane Gonzalez	Cleveland Browns	19	52	62.4	63%	−6.9
28	Mike Nugent	Dallas Cowboys	18	36	62.8	50%	+5.9
29	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	17	78	64.2	78%	−0.9
30	Giorgio Tavecchio	Las Vegas Raiders	15	63	64.2	76%	+0.9
31	Bradley Pinion	San Francisco 49ers	14	79	64.1	81%	+1.1
32	Nick Rose	Washington Commanders	13	45	64.9	71%	+1.3
33	Graham Gano	Carolina Panthers	12	82	64.6	85%	−3.6
34	Dustin Hopkins	Washington Commanders	11	40	64.3	73%	+2.4
35	Travis Coons	Los Angeles Chargers	11	15	62.9	27%	+0.2
36	Matt Prater	Detroit Lions	10	16	60.5	38%	+3.2
37	Cairo Santos	Kansas City Chiefs	8	20	65.4	60%	+1.7
38	Jason Myers	Jacksonville Jaguars	7	34	61.9	76%	−8.4
39	Jeff Locke	Detroit Lions	7	23	64.6	70%	−1.0
40	Younghoe Koo	Los Angeles Chargers	6	14	65.9	57%	−1.9
41	Drew Kaser	Los Angeles Chargers	5	7	64.1	29%	−2.6
42	Nick Folk	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4	17	65.1	76%	+2.0
43	Caleb Sturgis	Philadelphia Eagles	4	6	62.3	33%	+1.1
44	Sam Ficken	Los Angeles Rams	3	8	63.9	63%	−3.1
45	Jeff Heath	Dallas Cowboys	3	5	61.6	40%	+0.5
46	Kamu Grugier-Hill	Philadelphia Eagles	3	4	62.0	25%	−1.7
47	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	2	4	65.0	50%	−1.1
48	Jon Ryan	Seattle Seahawks	2	2	62.5	0%	−2.4
49	Riley Dixon	Denver Broncos	2	2	59.0	0%	−1.8
50	Robbie Gould	San Francisco 49ers	2	2	37.5	0%	−0.1
51	Marshall Koehn	Cincinnati Bengals	1	2	69.5	50%	−0.1
52	Andy Lee	Arizona Cardinals	1	1	68.0	0%	+0.4
53	Britton Colquitt	Cleveland Browns	1	1	64.0	0%	−0.6
54	Dustin Colquitt	Kansas City Chiefs	1	1	48.0	0%	+4.5
55	Kasey Redfern	Detroit Lions	1	1	65.0	0%	+0.2
56	Lac Edwards	New York Jets	1	1	55.0	0%	−0.3
57	Ryan Quigley	Minnesota Vikings	1	1	51.0	0%	−1.2
58	Shane Lechler	Houston Texans	1	1	46.0	0%	−1.1
59	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	1	1	61.0	0%	−0.4

All 2017 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Kickoff Returns Allowed in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2016

More 2017 NFL kickoff specialist leaderboards

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