2022 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 2022, Ka'imi Fairbairn (19.0) topped NFL kickoff specialists in average kickoff return allowed, ahead of Tyler Bass (19.9) and Daniel Carlson (20.1). 34 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 10 returns). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 22.4.

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 ret	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	19.0	70	64.4	47%	37	+26.5
2	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	19.9	92	61.9	47%	47	+9.6
3	Daniel Carlson	Las Vegas Raiders	20.1	87	63.0	66%	29	+1.6
4	Austin Seibert	Detroit Lions	20.1	17	63.6	18%	14	+2.4
5	Randy Bullock	Tennessee Titans	20.6	56	63.2	55%	25	+3.4
6	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	21.1	91	64.0	59%	37	+5.3
7	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	21.2	86	63.4	70%	26	−1.7
8	Joey Slye	Washington Commanders	21.3	74	64.6	81%	14	+1.3
9	Cade York	Cleveland Browns	21.4	78	63.9	64%	28	+1.9
10	Evan McPherson	Cincinnati Bengals	21.4	89	62.5	57%	37	−2.3
11	Riley Patterson	Jacksonville Jaguars	21.5	87	62.1	51%	41	+1.7
12	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	21.6	46	64.1	61%	18	+1.9
13	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	21.8	49	61.9	43%	27	−0.2
14	Brandon McManus	Denver Broncos	21.9	71	64.2	72%	20	+2.5
15	Robbie Gould	San Francisco 49ers	22.1	95	62.6	49%	47	+0.2
16	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	22.3	68	64.4	65%	24	+3.2
17	Eddy Pineiro	Carolina Panthers	22.4	81	62.3	57%	33	+5.6
18	Bradley Pinion	Atlanta Falcons	22.4	80	64.3	74%	21	−0.7
19	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	22.6	66	63.7	70%	20	0.0
20	Wil Lutz	New Orleans Saints	22.6	71	63.4	68%	23	−2.5
21	Trenton Gill	Chicago Bears	22.9	27	64.6	48%	14	+1.7
22	Matt Gay	Los Angeles Rams	23.0	76	63.6	80%	15	−4.2
23	Chase McLaughlin	Indianapolis Colts	23.0	73	64.1	53%	34	+5.0
24	Mason Crosby	Green Bay Packers	23.3	73	61.5	21%	58	−1.7
25	Matt Prater	Arizona Cardinals	23.9	48	64.3	71%	14	+0.3
26	Brett Maher	Dallas Cowboys	24.2	100	64.7	78%	21	+0.5
27	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	25.4	92	64.1	68%	29	−1.2
28	Jake Camarda	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	25.8	75	63.9	53%	34	−2.1
29	Graham Gano	New York Giants	25.9	79	64.0	63%	29	+0.9
30	Greg Joseph	Minnesota Vikings	26.2	88	64.0	61%	34	−8.7
31	Jason Sanders	Miami Dolphins	27.7	85	64.1	72%	24	−9.5
32	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	27.9	47	64.4	60%	18	−2.0
33	Matthew Wright	Pittsburgh Steelers	28.2	35	63.6	43%	20	+1.3
34	Nick Folk	New England Patriots	29.4	32	59.9	9%	28	−16.8

All 2022 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

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

More 2022 NFL kickoff specialist leaderboards

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