2022 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 2022, Brett Maher (64.7) led NFL kickoff specialists in average kickoff distance, ahead of Joey Slye (64.6) and Cairo Santos (64.4). 34 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 30 kickoffs). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 63.9.

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 2022 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Avg dist	Kickoffs	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Brett Maher	Dallas Cowboys	64.7	100	78%	21	+0.5
2	Joey Slye	Washington Commanders	64.6	74	81%	14	+1.3
3	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	64.4	47	60%	18	−2.0
4	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	64.4	70	47%	37	+26.5
5	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	64.4	68	65%	24	+3.2
6	Matt Prater	Arizona Cardinals	64.3	48	71%	14	+0.3
7	Bradley Pinion	Atlanta Falcons	64.3	80	74%	21	−0.7
8	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	64.2	71	72%	20	+2.5
9	Chase McLaughlin	Indianapolis Colts	64.1	73	53%	34	+5.0
10	Jason Sanders	Miami Dolphins	64.1	85	72%	24	−9.5
11	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	64.1	46	61%	18	+1.9
12	Greg Zuerlein	New York Jets	64.1	56	84%	9	−1.1
13	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	64.1	92	68%	29	−1.2
14	Graham Gano	New York Giants	64.0	79	63%	29	+0.9
15	Greg Joseph	Minnesota Vikings	64.0	88	61%	34	−8.7
16	Cameron Dicker	Los Angeles Chargers	64.0	55	84%	9	+1.2
17	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	64.0	91	59%	37	+5.3
18	Cade York	Cleveland Browns	63.9	78	64%	28	+1.9
19	Jake Camarda	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	63.9	75	53%	34	−2.1
20	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	63.7	66	70%	20	0.0
21	Matt Gay	Los Angeles Rams	63.6	76	80%	15	−4.2
22	Matthew Wright	Pittsburgh Steelers	63.6	35	43%	20	+1.3
23	Wil Lutz	New Orleans Saints	63.4	71	68%	23	−2.5
24	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	63.4	86	70%	26	−1.7
25	Randy Bullock	Tennessee Titans	63.2	56	55%	25	+3.4
26	Daniel Carlson	Las Vegas Raiders	63.0	87	66%	29	+1.6
27	Robbie Gould	San Francisco 49ers	62.6	95	49%	47	+0.2
28	Evan McPherson	Cincinnati Bengals	62.5	89	57%	37	−2.3
29	Eddy Pineiro	Carolina Panthers	62.3	81	57%	33	+5.6
30	Riley Patterson	Jacksonville Jaguars	62.1	87	51%	41	+1.7
31	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	61.9	92	47%	47	+9.6
32	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	61.9	49	43%	27	−0.2
33	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	61.5	73	21%	58	−1.7
34	Nick Folk	New England Patriots	59.9	32	9%	28	−16.8

All 2022 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Average Kickoff Distance in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

More 2022 NFL kickoff specialist leaderboards

Other 2022 NFL rankings

Loading the interactive stats…