2023 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 2023, Harrison Butker (65.3) led NFL kickoff specialists in average kickoff distance, ahead of Wil Lutz (65.2) and Cairo Santos (65.0). 31 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 30 kickoffs). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 64.4.

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 2023 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Avg dist	Kickoffs	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	65.3	84	87%	11	−0.6
2	Wil Lutz	Denver Broncos	65.2	78	91%	7	+0.5
3	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	65.0	74	81%	14	+4.8
4	Joey Slye	Washington Commanders	64.9	69	93%	5	−1.4
5	Greg Zuerlein	New York Jets	64.8	64	91%	6	+0.5
6	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	64.8	90	81%	17	−6.1
7	Blake Grupe	New Orleans Saints	64.7	90	84%	14	+4.5
8	Matt Prater	Arizona Cardinals	64.6	74	89%	8	0.0
9	Jason Sanders	Miami Dolphins	64.6	88	85%	13	−12.3
10	Greg Joseph	Minnesota Vikings	64.5	78	78%	16	+0.2
11	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	64.5	84	68%	27	+7.1
12	Bradley Pinion	Atlanta Falcons	64.5	79	84%	12	−2.2
13	Brandon Aubrey	Dallas Cowboys	64.5	109	91%	9	−2.8
14	Ethan Evans	Los Angeles Rams	64.5	82	89%	9	−4.0
15	Daniel Carlson	Las Vegas Raiders	64.4	77	62%	29	+2.4
16	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	64.4	99	81%	19	−1.4
17	Cameron Dicker	Los Angeles Chargers	64.4	80	85%	12	+1.0
18	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	64.3	56	66%	19	+0.5
19	Evan McPherson	Cincinnati Bengals	64.3	80	79%	17	+3.3
20	Brandon McManus	Jacksonville Jaguars	64.3	84	77%	19	−4.2
21	Eddy Pineiro	Carolina Panthers	64.3	54	67%	17	−0.7
22	Nick Folk	Tennessee Titans	64.2	60	53%	28	+9.1
23	Matt Gay	Indianapolis Colts	64.1	92	78%	20	−4.2
24	Anders Carlson	Green Bay Packers	63.8	85	44%	47	+2.5
25	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	63.6	76	72%	21	−7.1
26	Chad Ryland	New England Patriots	63.6	60	65%	21	+8.7
27	Dustin Hopkins	Cleveland Browns	63.5	76	66%	26	−3.4
28	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	63.4	85	65%	29	+0.1
29	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	63.2	94	56%	41	+4.5
30	Jake Camarda	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	63.1	81	64%	29	+1.4
31	Jake Moody	San Francisco 49ers	62.5	90	60%	34	−2.9

All 2023 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Average Kickoff Distance in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

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