2016 NFL Average Punt Return Allowed Leaders

Return yards allowed divided by punts returned. It shows how well a punter and his coverage team contain returners.

Lower is better. Only punters with enough returns are ranked. In 2016, Johnny Hekker (4.3) topped NFL punters in average punt return allowed, ahead of Ryan Allen (5.0) and Dustin Colquitt (5.2). 33 punters qualify (minimum 10 returns). The median qualified punter had 8.6.

Final 2016 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Avg ret	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Johnny Hekker	Los Angeles Rams	4.3	98	47.8	46.0	51	52%	1%	41%	+32.5
2	Ryan Allen	New England Patriots	5.0	72	44.7	41.4	23	32%	7%	26%	+15.0
3	Dustin Colquitt	Kansas City Chiefs	5.2	76	45.1	40.7	38	50%	12%	36%	+14.0
4	Bryan Anger	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5.3	70	45.9	42.7	37	53%	7%	41%	+19.3
5	Sam Martin	Detroit Lions	6.0	62	48.5	44.2	23	37%	5%	23%	+7.1
6	Michael Palardy	Carolina Panthers	6.0	36	42.5	37.9	13	36%	6%	17%	+3.1
7	Colton Schmidt	Buffalo Bills	6.7	75	42.4	38.1	20	27%	4%	11%	−13.9
8	Riley Dixon	Denver Broncos	6.8	89	45.7	41.3	28	31%	7%	28%	+6.2
9	Jeff Locke	Minnesota Vikings	8.0	74	42.6	39.0	34	46%	4%	38%	−3.6
10	Donnie Jones	Philadelphia Eagles	8.1	63	45.8	40.7	21	33%	10%	24%	+3.5
11	Matt Darr	Miami Dolphins	8.1	90	44.3	39.9	32	36%	6%	29%	−1.8
12	Thomas Morstead	New Orleans Saints	8.2	57	48.3	42.4	22	39%	9%	12%	−1.7
13	Pat McAfee	Indianapolis Colts	8.2	56	49.3	42.7	19	34%	16%	31%	+3.4
14	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	8.2	49	45.1	38.9	15	31%	8%	14%	−5.7
15	Britton Colquitt	Cleveland Browns	8.4	83	45.3	40.3	22	27%	2%	28%	+1.7
16	Drew Kaser	Los Angeles Chargers	8.5	59	46.3	39.8	18	31%	8%	17%	−5.1
17	Jon Ryan	Seattle Seahawks	8.6	72	44.0	39.3	26	36%	4%	31%	−6.7
18	Bradley Pinion	San Francisco 49ers	8.6	100	44.0	39.8	28	28%	4%	41%	−7.1
19	Chris Jones	Dallas Cowboys	8.7	59	45.9	40.5	25	42%	7%	29%	−6.6
20	Brad Wing	New York Giants	8.9	93	46.2	40.9	28	30%	9%	17%	+9.9
21	Lac Edwards	New York Jets	9.1	76	43.1	37.3	24	32%	5%	29%	−22.2
22	Jacob Schum	Green Bay Packers	9.4	56	43.2	39.1	19	34%	7%	32%	−9.6
23	Jordan Berry	Pittsburgh Steelers	9.6	69	45.6	40.2	25	36%	4%	25%	+0.1
24	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	9.7	77	44.2	38.6	32	42%	5%	35%	−0.7
25	Kevin Huber	Cincinnati Bengals	9.7	78	46.3	39.5	23	29%	10%	26%	−8.6
26	Shane Lechler	Houston Texans	9.9	72	47.5	40.1	30	42%	4%	18%	−11.4
27	Matt Bosher	Atlanta Falcons	10.0	44	46.8	41.6	21	48%	2%	36%	+1.6
28	Drew Butler	Arizona Cardinals	10.5	32	42.2	35.6	10	31%	0%	25%	−10.9
29	Sam Koch	Baltimore Ravens	11.4	80	45.8	39.9	37	46%	6%	18%	+2.2
30	Marquette King	Las Vegas Raiders	12.3	81	48.6	41.4	34	42%	11%	19%	+13.9
31	Brad Nortman	Jacksonville Jaguars	12.5	77	46.6	39.5	27	35%	10%	25%	+1.4
32	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	12.8	68	44.0	38.4	24	35%	7%	46%	−7.9
33	Andy Lee	Carolina Panthers	13.9	36	49.1	40.4	18	50%	11%	19%	+1.4

All 2016 NFL punter rankings

Average Punt Return Allowed in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017

More 2016 NFL punter leaderboards

Other 2016 NFL rankings

Loading the interactive stats…