2020 NFL Average Kickoff Return Allowed Leaders

Return yards divided by returns. It shows how well his kicks and coverage contain returners.

Lower is better. Only specialists with enough returns are ranked. In 2020, Jason Sanders (16.4) topped NFL kickoff specialists in average kickoff return allowed, ahead of Tyler Bass (17.9) and Matt Prater (17.9). 35 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 10 returns). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 22.1.

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 ret	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Jason Sanders	Miami Dolphins	16.4	87	63.0	74%	22	+5.7
2	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	17.9	101	64.0	70%	30	+7.1
3	Matt Prater	Detroit Lions	17.9	17	60.1	41%	10	−0.6
4	Wil Lutz	New Orleans Saints	18.0	92	64.3	77%	21	+6.0
5	J.K. Scott	Green Bay Packers	18.4	16	60.3	25%	12	−0.5
6	Mike Nugent	Arizona Cardinals	19.0	19	63.3	16%	16	+9.5
7	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	19.4	45	61.6	56%	18	+0.2
8	Zane Gonzalez	Arizona Cardinals	19.6	64	64.2	56%	28	+7.6
9	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	20.2	83	62.8	51%	41	+3.6
10	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	20.7	83	64.0	63%	31	+5.9
11	Randy Bullock	Cincinnati Bengals	21.0	57	63.3	75%	13	+0.3
12	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	21.0	76	63.1	43%	43	+11.8
13	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	21.1	95	64.1	68%	30	+4.6
14	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	21.4	90	64.0	58%	38	+11.1
15	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	21.5	71	64.4	59%	29	+3.8
16	Greg Zuerlein	Dallas Cowboys	21.6	87	63.7	69%	27	+0.5
17	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	21.9	73	63.3	60%	28	+1.2
18	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	22.1	70	63.8	66%	24	+1.0
19	Graham Gano	New York Giants	22.2	70	61.8	43%	40	−5.8
20	Stephen Gostkowski	Tennessee Titans	22.3	84	63.4	61%	32	+2.9
21	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	22.4	58	62.9	33%	38	+2.3
22	Matthew Wright	Pittsburgh Steelers	22.7	14	61.0	7%	13	0.0
23	Daniel Carlson	Las Vegas Raiders	23.4	93	64.0	66%	32	+4.2
24	Younghoe Koo	Atlanta Falcons	23.5	64	64.6	44%	36	+1.7
25	Sam Sloman	Los Angeles Rams	24.2	44	63.4	55%	19	−0.5
26	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	24.2	95	63.4	76%	21	−7.1
27	Sam Ficken	New York Jets	25.0	31	63.3	58%	12	+0.1
28	Mitch Wishnowsky	San Francisco 49ers	25.3	65	64.8	65%	23	−1.6
29	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	25.9	82	63.9	59%	33	−5.9
30	Dan Bailey	Minnesota Vikings	26.0	78	62.7	68%	25	−10.1
31	Cody Parkey	Cleveland Browns	26.1	81	63.5	56%	35	−7.3
32	Braden Mann	New York Jets	26.3	28	64.8	57%	12	−2.4
33	Ty Long	Los Angeles Chargers	26.5	80	64.7	61%	31	+2.5
34	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	30.9	69	64.9	78%	15	−6.1
35	Bradley Pinion	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	33.6	100	64.8	85%	14	−9.3

All 2020 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Average Kickoff Return Allowed 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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