2021 NFL Kickoff Out of Bounds Percentage Leaders

The share of kickoffs that crossed a sideline before anyone touched them. It is a penalty and gives the receiving team good field position.

Lowest comes first. Most specialists are at or near zero. In 2021, Dustin Hopkins (0.0%) topped NFL kickoff specialists in kickoff out of bounds percentage, ahead of Jake Elliott (0.0%) and Greg Joseph (0.0%). 34 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 30 kickoffs). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 0.0%.

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	OOB %	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Dustin Hopkins	Los Angeles Chargers	0.0%	98	64.0	72%	27	+7.3
2	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	0.0%	94	64.4	65%	33	−5.4
3	Greg Joseph	Minnesota Vikings	0.0%	93	64.4	82%	17	−0.6
4	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	0.0%	93	63.0	66%	32	−0.6
5	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	0.0%	93	64.0	51%	46	+13.1
6	Matt Prater	Arizona Cardinals	0.0%	91	64.9	80%	18	+0.3
7	Randy Bullock	Tennessee Titans	0.0%	89	63.8	56%	39	+8.8
8	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	0.0%	76	65.1	82%	14	−17.3
9	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	0.0%	69	64.0	49%	35	+3.0
10	Chase McLaughlin	Cleveland Browns	0.0%	68	63.8	46%	37	+6.4
11	Joey Slye	Washington Commanders	0.0%	58	63.6	64%	21	−1.8
12	Zane Gonzalez	Carolina Panthers	0.0%	55	64.9	64%	20	−6.7
13	Mitch Wishnowsky	San Francisco 49ers	0.0%	53	63.2	40%	32	−5.3
14	Matt Ammendola	New York Jets	0.0%	43	63.0	63%	16	−0.7
15	Brett Maher	New Orleans Saints	0.0%	35	63.7	51%	17	+1.6
16	Brian Johnson	New Orleans Saints	0.0%	34	62.7	47%	18	+0.3
17	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	0.0%	34	64.6	56%	15	+0.1
18	Tristan Vizcaino	Los Angeles Chargers	0.0%	31	64.4	42%	18	+0.5
19	Matthew Wright	Jacksonville Jaguars	0.0%	30	62.1	17%	25	−11.3
20	Greg Zuerlein	Dallas Cowboys	1.0%	99	64.4	81%	18	−7.2
21	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	1.1%	94	63.8	46%	50	−4.4
22	Evan McPherson	Cincinnati Bengals	1.1%	91	63.5	60%	35	+0.5
23	Bradley Pinion	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1.1%	89	64.2	80%	17	−8.3
24	Daniel Carlson	Las Vegas Raiders	1.1%	87	63.5	61%	33	−3.2
25	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	1.1%	87	61.8	54%	39	+0.3
26	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	1.2%	86	63.1	47%	45	−2.5
27	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	1.2%	81	62.2	38%	49	+13.0
28	Jason Sanders	Miami Dolphins	1.3%	77	63.7	73%	20	+2.6
29	Graham Gano	New York Giants	1.6%	64	61.5	42%	36	+5.9
30	Younghoe Koo	Atlanta Falcons	1.8%	55	62.9	53%	25	+4.6
31	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	2.0%	98	62.5	57%	40	+12.1
32	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	2.4%	42	61.8	38%	25	+2.4
33	Matt Gay	Los Angeles Rams	3.0%	99	62.3	66%	31	+0.4
34	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	3.2%	93	62.6	44%	49	+6.1

All 2021 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Kickoff Out of Bounds Percentage 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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