2026 NFL Kickoff Return Yards Allowed Leaders

Total return yards gained against a specialist's kickoffs. It reflects his kick and his coverage team.

Lower is better, but volume matters. In 2026, Tyler Bass (966) led NFL kickoff specialists in kickoff return yards allowed, ahead of Cam Little (839) and Andy Borregales (750). 36 kickoff specialists qualify. 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	Ret yds	Kickoffs	Avg dist	TB%	Returns	Points
1	Tyler Bass	Buffalo Bills	966	41	60.8	7%	38	−0.1
2	Cam Little	Jacksonville Jaguars	839	32	61.6	9%	29	−4.5
3	Andy Borregales	New England Patriots	750	33	60.3	9%	30	−2.1
4	Chase McLaughlin	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	746	32	61.3	6%	30	+6.5
5	Chris Boswell	Pittsburgh Steelers	740	31	62.2	16%	26	−5.1
6	Nick Folk	Atlanta Falcons	733	29	61.1	0%	29	−0.5
7	Trey Smack	Green Bay Packers	718	29	60.9	14%	25	−6.1
8	Jason Myers	Seattle Seahawks	715	34	61.1	21%	27	−2.3
9	Ka'imi Fairbairn	Houston Texans	713	32	62.3	22%	25	−6.0
10	Eddy Pineiro	San Francisco 49ers	707	34	61.4	18%	28	−1.8
11	Harrison Butker	Kansas City Chiefs	696	30	61.5	13%	26	+3.4
12	Cairo Santos	Chicago Bears	661	38	58.7	16%	32	+8.2
13	Drew Stevens	Washington Commanders	658	30	60.7	17%	24	−3.5
14	Dominic Zvada	New York Giants	655	29	61.9	10%	26	+6.5
15	Matt Gay	Las Vegas Raiders	648	31	59.5	13%	26	−2.1
16	Evan McPherson	Cincinnati Bengals	625	29	60.7	14%	25	+1.2
17	Will Reichard	Minnesota Vikings	617	27	61.1	7%	25	+6.9
18	Tyler Loop	Baltimore Ravens	612	30	62.8	30%	21	−4.0
19	Jake Bates	Detroit Lions	607	30	61.2	13%	26	+2.2
20	Andre Szmyt	Cleveland Browns	586	27	60.6	15%	23	−1.7
21	Wil Lutz	Denver Broncos	582	27	58.7	7%	24	−1.2
22	Jason Sanders	New York Jets	555	28	61.0	21%	22	+1.9
23	Jake Elliott	Philadelphia Eagles	555	23	60.5	9%	21	−1.0
24	Ryan Fitzgerald	Carolina Panthers	516	32	61.0	22%	25	+11.5
25	Daniel Carlson	New Orleans Saints	503	30	60.0	23%	23	+12.6
26	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	503	23	59.5	9%	21	+2.5
27	Harrison Mevis	Los Angeles Rams	500	24	60.0	17%	19	−4.2
28	Brandon Aubrey	Dallas Cowboys	497	32	56.9	16%	25	+5.3
29	Chad Ryland	Arizona Cardinals	487	28	62.2	25%	20	−2.7
30	Cameron Dicker	Los Angeles Chargers	424	22	61.9	23%	17	−2.6
31	Riley Patterson	Miami Dolphins	375	16	60.3	25%	12	−7.4
32	Spencer Shrader	Indianapolis Colts	340	14	61.2	14%	12	−0.2
33	Joey Slye	Tennessee Titans	228	20	56.4	35%	12	−3.6
34	Ethan Evans	Los Angeles Rams	95	4	64.0	50%	2	−3.2
35	Blake Grupe	Los Angeles Rams	40	1	58.0	0%	1	−1.2
36	Justin Reid	New Orleans Saints	32	1	60.0	0%	1	−0.5

All 2026 NFL kickoff specialist rankings

Kickoff Return Yards Allowed in other seasons: 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

More 2026 NFL kickoff specialist leaderboards

Other 2026 NFL rankings

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