2018 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 2018, Mike Badgley (45) led NFL kickoff specialists in kickoff returns allowed, ahead of Stephen Gostkowski (43) and Mason Crosby (39). 51 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 2018 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Returns	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Points
1	Mike Badgley	Los Angeles Chargers	45	54	61.7	17%	+5.5
2	Stephen Gostkowski	New England Patriots	43	95	60.9	55%	−11.9
3	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	39	80	64.2	51%	−3.0
4	Wil Lutz	New Orleans Saints	37	101	64.4	63%	+0.2
5	Matt Bosher	Atlanta Falcons	36	87	63.8	59%	−1.1
6	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	35	109	64.1	66%	+1.8
7	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	34	92	63.6	63%	+4.7
8	Sam Martin	Detroit Lions	34	68	64.3	50%	+4.6
9	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	33	92	62.5	63%	−0.8
10	Stephen Hauschka	Buffalo Bills	33	63	62.0	48%	+2.3
11	Randy Bullock	Cincinnati Bengals	32	78	63.6	58%	+1.0
12	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	31	82	62.2	62%	+7.6
13	Sebastian Janikowski	Seattle Seahawks	30	72	64.2	58%	−0.4
14	Dan Bailey	Minnesota Vikings	30	65	63.0	54%	+0.1
15	Cairo Santos	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	29	48	61.6	40%	−2.5
16	Aldrick Rosas	New York Giants	28	81	62.8	63%	+1.2
17	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	28	70	63.3	60%	+2.9
18	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	27	86	63.0	69%	−1.0
19	Bradley Pinion	San Francisco 49ers	25	77	64.5	68%	−3.4
20	Brett Maher	Dallas Cowboys	25	77	64.7	68%	−4.9
21	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	24	81	64.1	70%	−0.4
22	Ryan Succop	Tennessee Titans	24	70	63.8	66%	−7.1
23	Daniel Carlson	Las Vegas Raiders	23	53	62.8	55%	−3.2
24	Cody Parkey	Chicago Bears	22	88	63.8	74%	−1.3
25	Jason Myers	New York Jets	22	82	64.1	73%	+2.5
26	Greg Joseph	Cleveland Browns	20	68	63.7	69%	+0.4
27	Greg Zuerlein	Los Angeles Rams	18	75	64.6	76%	+3.8
28	Phil Dawson	Arizona Cardinals	17	31	63.6	45%	+2.5
29	Josh Lambo	Jacksonville Jaguars	16	52	62.6	69%	+2.9
30	Caleb Sturgis	Los Angeles Chargers	16	34	64.6	53%	+2.4
31	Matt McCrane	Las Vegas Raiders	15	20	61.9	25%	+3.0
32	Graham Gano	Carolina Panthers	14	61	64.4	77%	−1.6
33	Dustin Hopkins	Washington Commanders	13	69	64.2	81%	−1.0
34	Jason Sanders	Miami Dolphins	13	69	63.5	80%	−5.2
35	Chandler Catanzaro	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	13	65	63.4	80%	−1.9
36	Zane Gonzalez	Arizona Cardinals	11	28	64.4	61%	+0.2
37	Mike Nugent	Las Vegas Raiders	7	13	65.1	46%	−0.3
38	Michael Dickson	Seattle Seahawks	7	8	49.0	0%	−0.4
39	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	5	10	62.5	50%	+0.3
40	Johnny Hekker	Los Angeles Rams	4	6	63.5	33%	+0.8
41	Matt Prater	Detroit Lions	3	6	57.2	50%	+0.6
42	Dustin Colquitt	Kansas City Chiefs	2	2	30.0	0%	−0.3
43	Robbie Gould	San Francisco 49ers	2	2	40.5	0%	0.0
44	Thomas Morstead	New Orleans Saints	2	2	47.5	0%	+1.1
45	Sam Ficken	Los Angeles Rams	1	13	61.8	85%	−2.0
46	Andy Lee	Arizona Cardinals	1	1	68.0	0%	−1.1
47	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	1	1	43.0	0%	−1.2
48	Britton Colquitt	Cleveland Browns	1	1	56.0	0%	+5.7
49	Bryan Anger	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1	1	73.0	0%	+0.5
50	J.K. Scott	Green Bay Packers	1	1	61.0	0%	−0.1
51	Lac Edwards	New York Jets	1	1	56.0	0%	+0.4

All 2018 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Kickoff Returns Allowed in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2017 2016

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