2020 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 2020, Joey Slye (65.0) led NFL kickoff specialists in average kickoff distance, ahead of Brandon McManus (64.9) and Mitch Wishnowsky (64.8). 33 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 2020 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Avg dist	Kickoffs	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Joey Slye	Carolina Panthers	65.0	78	91%	7	+0.8
2	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	64.9	69	78%	15	−6.1
3	Mitch Wishnowsky	San Francisco 49ers	64.8	65	65%	23	−1.6
4	Bradley Pinion	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	64.8	100	85%	14	−9.3
5	Ty Long	Los Angeles Chargers	64.7	80	61%	31	+2.5
6	Younghoe Koo	Atlanta Falcons	64.6	64	44%	36	+1.7
7	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	64.4	71	59%	29	+3.8
8	Wil Lutz	New Orleans Saints	64.3	92	77%	21	+6.0
9	Dustin Hopkins	Washington Commanders	64.3	74	88%	9	−4.9
10	Zane Gonzalez	Arizona Cardinals	64.2	64	56%	28	+7.6
11	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	64.1	95	68%	30	+4.6
12	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	64.0	101	70%	30	+7.1
13	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	64.0	90	58%	38	+11.1
14	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	64.0	83	63%	31	+5.9
15	Daniel Carlson	Las Vegas Raiders	64.0	93	66%	32	+4.2
16	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	63.9	82	59%	33	−5.9
17	Matt Gay	Los Angeles Rams	63.8	35	80%	6	−3.2
18	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	63.8	70	66%	24	+1.0
19	Greg Zuerlein	Dallas Cowboys	63.7	87	69%	27	+0.5
20	Cody Parkey	Cleveland Browns	63.5	81	56%	35	−7.3
21	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	63.4	95	76%	21	−7.1
22	Sam Sloman	Los Angeles Rams	63.4	44	55%	19	−0.5
23	Stephen Gostkowski	Tennessee Titans	63.4	84	61%	32	+2.9
24	Sam Ficken	New York Jets	63.3	31	58%	12	+0.1
25	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	63.3	73	60%	28	+1.2
26	Randy Bullock	Cincinnati Bengals	63.3	57	75%	13	+0.3
27	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	63.1	76	43%	43	+11.8
28	Jason Sanders	Miami Dolphins	63.0	87	74%	22	+5.7
29	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	62.9	58	33%	38	+2.3
30	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	62.8	83	51%	41	+3.6
31	Dan Bailey	Minnesota Vikings	62.7	78	68%	25	−10.1
32	Graham Gano	New York Giants	61.8	70	43%	40	−5.8
33	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	61.6	45	56%	18	+0.2

All 2020 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Average Kickoff Distance in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2019 2018 2017 2016

More 2020 NFL kickoff specialist leaderboards

Other 2020 NFL rankings

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