2021 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 2021, Brandon McManus (65.1) led NFL kickoff specialists in average kickoff distance, ahead of Zane Gonzalez (64.9) and Matt Prater (64.9). 34 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 30 kickoffs). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 63.7.

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 2021 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Avg dist	Kickoffs	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	65.1	76	82%	14	−17.3
2	Zane Gonzalez	Carolina Panthers	64.9	55	64%	20	−6.7
3	Matt Prater	Arizona Cardinals	64.9	91	80%	18	+0.3
4	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	64.6	34	56%	15	+0.1
5	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	64.4	94	65%	33	−5.4
6	Greg Joseph	Minnesota Vikings	64.4	93	82%	17	−0.6
7	Greg Zuerlein	Dallas Cowboys	64.4	99	81%	18	−7.2
8	Tristan Vizcaino	Los Angeles Chargers	64.4	31	42%	18	+0.5
9	Bradley Pinion	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	64.2	89	80%	17	−8.3
10	Dustin Hopkins	Los Angeles Chargers	64.0	98	72%	27	+7.3
11	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	64.0	93	51%	46	+13.1
12	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	64.0	69	49%	35	+3.0
13	Randy Bullock	Tennessee Titans	63.8	89	56%	39	+8.8
14	Chase McLaughlin	Cleveland Browns	63.8	68	46%	37	+6.4
15	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	63.8	94	46%	50	−4.4
16	Jason Sanders	Miami Dolphins	63.7	77	73%	20	+2.6
17	Brett Maher	New Orleans Saints	63.7	35	51%	17	+1.6
18	Joey Slye	Washington Commanders	63.6	58	64%	21	−1.8
19	Daniel Carlson	Las Vegas Raiders	63.5	87	61%	33	−3.2
20	Evan McPherson	Cincinnati Bengals	63.5	91	60%	35	+0.5
21	Mitch Wishnowsky	San Francisco 49ers	63.2	53	40%	32	−5.3
22	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	63.1	86	47%	45	−2.5
23	Matt Ammendola	New York Jets	63.0	43	63%	16	−0.7
24	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	63.0	93	66%	32	−0.6
25	Younghoe Koo	Atlanta Falcons	62.9	55	53%	25	+4.6
26	Brian Johnson	New Orleans Saints	62.7	34	47%	18	+0.3
27	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	62.6	93	44%	49	+6.1
28	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	62.5	98	57%	40	+12.1
29	Matt Gay	Los Angeles Rams	62.3	99	66%	31	+0.4
30	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	62.2	81	38%	49	+13.0
31	Matthew Wright	Jacksonville Jaguars	62.1	30	17%	25	−11.3
32	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	61.8	87	54%	39	+0.3
33	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	61.8	42	38%	25	+2.4
34	Graham Gano	New York Giants	61.5	64	42%	36	+5.9

All 2021 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Average Kickoff Distance in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

More 2021 NFL kickoff specialist leaderboards

Other 2021 NFL rankings

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