2021 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 2021, Graham Gano (18.1) topped NFL kickoff specialists in average kickoff return allowed, ahead of Dustin Hopkins (18.1) and Tyler Bass (18.4). 37 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 10 returns). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 21.6.

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 ret	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Graham Gano	New York Giants	18.1	64	61.5	42%	36	+5.9
2	Dustin Hopkins	Los Angeles Chargers	18.1	98	64.0	72%	27	+7.3
3	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	18.4	98	62.5	57%	40	+12.1
4	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	18.5	87	61.8	54%	39	+0.3
5	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	18.7	93	63.0	66%	32	−0.6
6	Brian Johnson	New Orleans Saints	19.0	34	62.7	47%	18	+0.3
7	Austin Seibert	Detroit Lions	19.3	20	63.1	25%	15	+4.5
8	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	19.6	81	62.2	38%	49	+13.0
9	Matt Ammendola	New York Jets	20.1	43	63.0	63%	16	−0.7
10	Chase McLaughlin	Cleveland Browns	20.2	68	63.8	46%	37	+6.4
11	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	20.3	42	61.8	38%	25	+2.4
12	Randy Bullock	Tennessee Titans	20.4	89	63.8	56%	39	+8.8
13	Robbie Gould	San Francisco 49ers	20.4	21	63.2	38%	13	+0.6
14	Matt Gay	Los Angeles Rams	20.8	99	62.3	66%	31	+0.4
15	Jason Sanders	Miami Dolphins	21.0	77	63.7	73%	20	+2.6
16	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	21.2	93	62.6	44%	49	+6.1
17	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	21.4	69	64.0	49%	35	+3.0
18	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	21.5	93	64.0	51%	46	+13.1
19	Evan McPherson	Cincinnati Bengals	21.6	91	63.5	60%	35	+0.5
20	Matt Prater	Arizona Cardinals	21.7	91	64.9	80%	18	+0.3
21	Joey Slye	Washington Commanders	22.1	58	63.6	64%	21	−1.8
22	Younghoe Koo	Atlanta Falcons	22.1	55	62.9	53%	25	+4.6
23	Brett Maher	New Orleans Saints	22.3	35	63.7	51%	17	+1.6
24	Daniel Carlson	Las Vegas Raiders	22.5	87	63.5	61%	33	−3.2
25	Greg Joseph	Minnesota Vikings	22.5	93	64.4	82%	17	−0.6
26	Mitch Wishnowsky	San Francisco 49ers	24.0	53	63.2	40%	32	−5.3
27	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	24.2	86	63.1	47%	45	−2.5
28	Tristan Vizcaino	Los Angeles Chargers	24.3	31	64.4	42%	18	+0.5
29	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	25.2	34	64.6	56%	15	+0.1
30	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	25.7	94	63.8	46%	50	−4.4
31	Greg Zuerlein	Dallas Cowboys	26.0	99	64.4	81%	18	−7.2
32	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	26.5	94	64.4	65%	33	−5.4
33	Bradley Pinion	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	27.9	89	64.2	80%	17	−8.3
34	Zane Gonzalez	Carolina Panthers	27.9	55	64.9	64%	20	−6.7
35	Matthew Wright	Jacksonville Jaguars	28.4	30	62.1	17%	25	−11.3
36	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	31.3	21	62.0	48%	10	−6.2
37	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	39.4	76	65.1	82%	14	−17.3

All 2021 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Average Kickoff Return Allowed 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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