2023 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 2023, Mason Crosby (5.1) topped NFL kickoff specialists in average kickoff return allowed, ahead of Evan McPherson (12.6) and Tyler Bass (15.8). 26 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 10 returns). The median qualified kickoff specialist had 20.4.

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 ret	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Mason Crosby	New York Giants	5.1	16	60.8	13%	14	+6.9
2	Evan McPherson	Cincinnati Bengals	12.6	80	64.3	79%	17	+3.3
3	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	15.8	94	63.2	56%	41	+4.5
4	Blake Grupe	New Orleans Saints	16.1	90	64.7	84%	14	+4.5
5	Dustin Hopkins	Cleveland Browns	16.6	76	63.5	66%	26	−3.4
6	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	16.8	85	63.4	65%	29	+0.1
7	Jake Camarda	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16.9	81	63.1	64%	29	+1.4
8	Cameron Dicker	Los Angeles Chargers	17.8	80	64.4	85%	12	+1.0
9	Brandon McManus	Jacksonville Jaguars	18.7	84	64.3	77%	19	−4.2
10	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	18.8	84	64.5	68%	27	+7.1
11	Jake Moody	San Francisco 49ers	19.3	90	62.5	60%	34	−2.9
12	Matt Gay	Indianapolis Colts	19.6	92	64.1	78%	20	−4.2
13	Anders Carlson	Green Bay Packers	20.2	85	63.8	44%	47	+2.5
14	Chad Ryland	New England Patriots	20.6	60	63.6	65%	21	+8.7
15	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	20.6	56	64.3	66%	19	+0.5
16	Justin Tucker	Baltimore Ravens	21.7	99	64.4	81%	19	−1.4
17	Bradley Pinion	Atlanta Falcons	21.8	79	64.5	84%	12	−2.2
18	Daniel Carlson	Las Vegas Raiders	22.0	77	64.4	62%	29	+2.4
19	Nick Folk	Tennessee Titans	22.2	60	64.2	53%	28	+9.1
20	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	22.7	76	63.6	72%	21	−7.1
21	Greg Joseph	Minnesota Vikings	25.0	78	64.5	78%	16	+0.2
22	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	25.0	74	65.0	81%	14	+4.8
23	Eddy Pineiro	Carolina Panthers	25.5	54	64.3	67%	17	−0.7
24	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	28.3	84	65.3	87%	11	−0.6
25	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	28.9	90	64.8	81%	17	−6.1
26	Jason Sanders	Miami Dolphins	32.0	88	64.6	85%	13	−12.3

All 2023 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

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

More 2023 NFL kickoff specialist leaderboards

Other 2023 NFL rankings

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