2016 NFL Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) Leaders

STOP (Saved Touchbacks Over Projection) is FootballKickingStats.com's touchback rating: how many touchbacks a punter avoided. Every punt gets an expected touchback chance: how often that season's punts from the same 5-yard stretch of the field went into the end zone. Add those chances up over a punter's season and subtract his real touchbacks. A punter who kicks often from midfield and keeps the ball out of the end zone climbs; one who punts from deep in his own end has few chances to gain or lose.

Higher is better. A STOP of +2.0 means two fewer touchbacks than an average punter would have had from the same spots. A short punt also avoids a touchback, so read it with net average. Blocked punts are left out. In 2016, Johnny Hekker (+4.9) led NFL punters in touchbacks avoided (STOP rank), ahead of Jeff Locke (+3.0) and Matt Bosher (+1.9). 34 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had +0.3.

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

Rk	Player	Team	STOP	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Johnny Hekker	Los Angeles Rams	+4.9	98	47.8	46.0	51	52%	1%	41%	+32.5
2	Jeff Locke	Minnesota Vikings	+3.0	74	42.6	39.0	34	46%	4%	38%	−3.6
3	Matt Bosher	Atlanta Falcons	+1.9	44	46.8	41.6	21	48%	2%	36%	+1.6
4	Jon Ryan	Seattle Seahawks	+1.8	72	44.0	39.3	26	36%	4%	31%	−6.7
5	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	+1.7	77	44.2	38.6	32	42%	5%	35%	−0.7
6	Drew Butler	Arizona Cardinals	+1.7	32	42.2	35.6	10	31%	0%	25%	−10.9
7	Colton Schmidt	Buffalo Bills	+1.7	75	42.4	38.1	20	27%	4%	11%	−13.9
8	Britton Colquitt	Cleveland Browns	+1.5	83	45.3	40.3	22	27%	2%	28%	+1.7
9	Lac Edwards	New York Jets	+1.4	76	43.1	37.3	24	32%	5%	29%	−22.2
10	Shane Lechler	Houston Texans	+1.4	72	47.5	40.1	30	42%	4%	18%	−11.4
11	Bradley Pinion	San Francisco 49ers	+1.3	100	44.0	39.8	28	28%	4%	41%	−7.1
12	Jordan Berry	Pittsburgh Steelers	+1.2	69	45.6	40.2	25	36%	4%	25%	+0.1
13	Sam Koch	Baltimore Ravens	+1.2	80	45.8	39.9	37	46%	6%	18%	+2.2
14	Ryan Quigley	Arizona Cardinals	+1.0	35	41.6	37.2	13	37%	6%	53%	−3.2
15	Michael Palardy	Carolina Panthers	+1.0	36	42.5	37.9	13	36%	6%	17%	+3.1
16	Matt Darr	Miami Dolphins	+0.8	90	44.3	39.9	32	36%	6%	29%	−1.8
17	Bryan Anger	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	+0.5	70	45.9	42.7	37	53%	7%	41%	+19.3
18	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	+0.1	68	44.0	38.4	24	35%	7%	46%	−7.9
19	Sam Martin	Detroit Lions	+0.1	62	48.5	44.2	23	37%	5%	23%	+7.1
20	Ryan Allen	New England Patriots	+0.1	72	44.7	41.4	23	32%	7%	26%	+15.0
21	Chris Jones	Dallas Cowboys	−0.4	59	45.9	40.5	25	42%	7%	29%	−6.6
22	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	−0.4	49	45.1	38.9	15	31%	8%	14%	−5.7
23	Jacob Schum	Green Bay Packers	−0.5	56	43.2	39.1	19	34%	7%	32%	−9.6
24	Andy Lee	Carolina Panthers	−0.7	36	49.1	40.4	18	50%	11%	19%	+1.4
25	Riley Dixon	Denver Broncos	−0.8	89	45.7	41.3	28	31%	7%	28%	+6.2
26	Drew Kaser	Los Angeles Chargers	−1.6	59	46.3	39.8	18	31%	8%	17%	−5.1
27	Thomas Morstead	New Orleans Saints	−1.6	57	48.3	42.4	22	39%	9%	12%	−1.7
28	Donnie Jones	Philadelphia Eagles	−1.9	63	45.8	40.7	21	33%	10%	24%	+3.5
29	Brad Wing	New York Giants	−2.1	93	46.2	40.9	28	30%	9%	17%	+9.9
30	Kevin Huber	Cincinnati Bengals	−2.7	78	46.3	39.5	23	29%	10%	26%	−8.6
31	Dustin Colquitt	Kansas City Chiefs	−2.7	76	45.1	40.7	38	50%	12%	36%	+14.0
32	Brad Nortman	Jacksonville Jaguars	−3.0	77	46.6	39.5	27	35%	10%	25%	+1.4
33	Marquette King	Las Vegas Raiders	−3.2	81	48.6	41.4	34	42%	11%	19%	+13.9
34	Pat McAfee	Indianapolis Colts	−5.9	56	49.3	42.7	19	34%	16%	31%	+3.4

All 2016 NFL punter rankings

Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017

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