2016 NFL Punt Return Yards Allowed Leaders

Total yards the receiving team gained on returns of a punter's kicks. It combines the punter's placement and the coverage team's tackling.

Lower is better, but more returns means more yards. In 2016, Shane Lechler (477) led NFL punters in punt return yards allowed, ahead of Marquette King (405) and Brad Nortman (389). 36 punters qualify.

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

Rk	Player	Team	Ret yds	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Shane Lechler	Houston Texans	477	72	47.5	40.1	30	42%	4%	18%	−11.4
2	Marquette King	Las Vegas Raiders	405	81	48.6	41.4	34	42%	11%	19%	+13.9
3	Brad Nortman	Jacksonville Jaguars	389	77	46.6	39.5	27	35%	10%	25%	+1.4
4	Britton Colquitt	Cleveland Browns	376	83	45.3	40.3	22	27%	2%	28%	+1.7
5	Sam Koch	Baltimore Ravens	375	80	45.8	39.9	37	46%	6%	18%	+2.2
6	Kevin Huber	Cincinnati Bengals	369	78	46.3	39.5	23	29%	10%	26%	−8.6
7	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	349	77	44.2	38.6	32	42%	5%	35%	−0.7
8	Bradley Pinion	San Francisco 49ers	345	100	44.0	39.8	28	28%	4%	41%	−7.1
9	Brad Wing	New York Giants	330	93	46.2	40.9	28	30%	9%	17%	+9.9
10	Lac Edwards	New York Jets	319	76	43.1	37.3	24	32%	5%	29%	−22.2
11	Matt Darr	Miami Dolphins	300	90	44.3	39.9	32	36%	6%	29%	−1.8
12	Drew Kaser	Los Angeles Chargers	282	59	46.3	39.8	18	31%	8%	17%	−5.1
13	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	282	68	44.0	38.4	24	35%	7%	46%	−7.9
14	Riley Dixon	Denver Broncos	271	89	45.7	41.3	28	31%	7%	28%	+6.2
15	Jordan Berry	Pittsburgh Steelers	269	69	45.6	40.2	25	36%	4%	25%	+0.1
16	Colton Schmidt	Buffalo Bills	262	75	42.4	38.1	20	27%	4%	11%	−13.9
17	Jon Ryan	Seattle Seahawks	240	72	44.0	39.3	26	36%	4%	31%	−6.7
18	Thomas Morstead	New Orleans Saints	237	57	48.3	42.4	22	39%	9%	12%	−1.7
19	Andy Lee	Carolina Panthers	236	36	49.1	40.4	18	50%	11%	19%	+1.4
20	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	222	49	45.1	38.9	15	31%	8%	14%	−5.7
21	Sam Martin	Detroit Lions	210	62	48.5	44.2	23	37%	5%	23%	+7.1
22	Drew Butler	Arizona Cardinals	210	32	42.2	35.6	10	31%	0%	25%	−10.9
23	Jeff Locke	Minnesota Vikings	209	74	42.6	39.0	34	46%	4%	38%	−3.6
24	Matt Bosher	Atlanta Falcons	209	44	46.8	41.6	21	48%	2%	36%	+1.6
25	Donnie Jones	Philadelphia Eagles	202	63	45.8	40.7	21	33%	10%	24%	+3.5
26	Chris Jones	Dallas Cowboys	192	59	45.9	40.5	25	42%	7%	29%	−6.6
27	Dustin Colquitt	Kansas City Chiefs	157	76	45.1	40.7	38	50%	12%	36%	+14.0
28	Johnny Hekker	Los Angeles Rams	152	98	47.8	46.0	51	52%	1%	41%	+32.5
29	Jacob Schum	Green Bay Packers	151	56	43.2	39.1	19	34%	7%	32%	−9.6
30	Pat McAfee	Indianapolis Colts	139	56	49.3	42.7	19	34%	16%	31%	+3.4
31	Ryan Allen	New England Patriots	134	72	44.7	41.4	23	32%	7%	26%	+15.0
32	Bryan Anger	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	128	70	45.9	42.7	37	53%	7%	41%	+19.3
33	Michael Palardy	Carolina Panthers	126	36	42.5	37.9	13	36%	6%	17%	+3.1
34	Ryan Quigley	Arizona Cardinals	75	35	41.6	37.2	13	37%	6%	53%	−3.2
35	Matt Wile	Arizona Cardinals	37	13	46.1	39.7	2	15%	0%	25%	−3.3
36	Graham Gano	Carolina Panthers	21	4	45.0	29.8	0	0%	50%	0%	−2.6

All 2016 NFL punter rankings

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

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