2026 NFL Kickoff Points Added Leaders

Each kickoff's expected-points result compared with the league-average kickoff, added up over the season. Onside kicks are left out. It credits the kicker and the coverage team together.

Positive means he did better than an average kickoff. In 2026, Daniel Carlson (+12.6) led NFL kickoff specialists in kickoff points added, ahead of Ryan Fitzgerald (+11.5) and Cairo Santos (+8.2). 33 kickoff specialists qualify (minimum 12 kickoffs). The median qualified kickoff specialist had −1.2. This season is in progress (through Week 7), so the numbers change each week.

NFL rule since 2025: a kickoff touchback starts the receiving team at its 35, so kickers aim for the landing zone short of the goal line and fewer touchbacks is better. Kickoff Points Added accounts for the rule, so it is the fair way to compare kickoff specialists across leagues and seasons.

Data through Week 7 of the 2026 season, updated October 24, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Points	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns
1	Daniel Carlson	New Orleans Saints	+12.6	30	60.0	23%	23
2	Ryan Fitzgerald	Carolina Panthers	+11.5	32	61.0	22%	25
3	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	+8.2	38	58.7	16%	32
4	Will Reichard	Minnesota Vikings	+6.9	27	61.1	7%	25
5	Chase McLaughlin	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	+6.5	32	61.3	6%	30
6	Dominic Zvada	New York Giants	+6.5	29	61.9	10%	26
7	Brandon Aubrey	Dallas Cowboys	+5.3	32	56.9	16%	25
8	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	+3.4	30	61.5	13%	26
9	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	+2.5	23	59.5	9%	21
10	Jake Bates	Detroit Lions	+2.2	30	61.2	13%	26
11	Jason Sanders	New York Jets	+1.9	28	61.0	21%	22
12	Evan McPherson	Cincinnati Bengals	+1.2	29	60.7	14%	25
13	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	−0.1	41	60.8	7%	38
14	Spencer Shrader	Indianapolis Colts	−0.2	14	61.2	14%	12
15	Nick Folk	Atlanta Falcons	−0.5	29	61.1	0%	29
16	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	−1.0	23	60.5	9%	21
17	Wil Lutz	Denver Broncos	−1.2	27	58.7	7%	24
18	Andre Szmyt	Cleveland Browns	−1.7	27	60.6	15%	23
19	Eddy Pineiro	San Francisco 49ers	−1.8	34	61.4	18%	28
20	Matt Gay	Las Vegas Raiders	−2.1	31	59.5	13%	26
21	Andy Borregales	New England Patriots	−2.1	33	60.3	9%	30
22	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	−2.3	34	61.1	21%	27
23	Cameron Dicker	Los Angeles Chargers	−2.6	22	61.9	23%	17
24	Chad Ryland	Arizona Cardinals	−2.7	28	62.2	25%	20
25	Drew Stevens	Washington Commanders	−3.5	30	60.7	17%	24
26	Joey Slye	Tennessee Titans	−3.6	20	56.4	35%	12
27	Tyler Loop	Baltimore Ravens	−4.0	30	62.8	30%	21
28	Harrison Mevis	Los Angeles Rams	−4.2	24	60.0	17%	19
29	Cam Little	Jacksonville Jaguars	−4.5	32	61.6	9%	29
30	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	−5.1	31	62.2	16%	26
31	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	−6.0	32	62.3	22%	25
32	Trey Smack	Green Bay Packers	−6.1	29	60.9	14%	25
33	Riley Patterson	Miami Dolphins	−7.4	16	60.3	25%	12

All 2026 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Kickoff Points Added in other seasons: 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

More 2026 NFL kickoff specialist leaderboards

Other 2026 NFL rankings

Loading the interactive stats…