2017 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 2017, Chris Jones (4.2) topped NFL punters in average punt return allowed, ahead of Rigoberto Sanchez (4.2) and Bradley Pinion (4.4). 33 punters qualify (minimum 10 returns). The median qualified punter had 7.6.

Final 2017 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Avg ret	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Chris Jones	Dallas Cowboys	4.2	66	44.1	41.4	34	52%	8%	30%	+14.2
2	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	4.2	85	44.8	42.6	28	33%	4%	32%	+12.6
3	Bradley Pinion	San Francisco 49ers	4.4	75	43.4	41.2	31	41%	1%	31%	+7.6
4	Ryan Allen	New England Patriots	4.6	58	43.4	40.5	24	41%	5%	24%	+7.8
5	Colton Schmidt	Buffalo Bills	5.5	79	44.7	40.5	28	35%	8%	20%	+6.3
6	Justin Vogel	Green Bay Packers	5.7	71	44.4	41.6	19	27%	3%	34%	−3.4
7	Bryan Anger	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5.7	66	44.0	39.5	24	36%	8%	32%	+8.9
8	Michael Palardy	Carolina Panthers	5.9	71	46.0	42.4	25	35%	6%	30%	+1.3
9	Johnny Hekker	Los Angeles Rams	6.1	65	47.9	44.3	30	46%	6%	18%	+11.3
10	Matt Haack	Miami Dolphins	6.3	83	44.5	40.7	30	36%	6%	24%	+7.8
11	Marquette King	Las Vegas Raiders	6.4	69	47.4	42.7	28	41%	9%	22%	+22.4
12	Drew Kaser	Los Angeles Chargers	6.6	74	48.1	41.3	27	36%	12%	8%	+2.8
13	Dustin Colquitt	Kansas City Chiefs	6.8	65	45.2	41.1	29	45%	8%	34%	+11.6
14	Donnie Jones	Philadelphia Eagles	6.8	68	45.3	40.6	21	31%	7%	21%	+0.2
15	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	7.2	75	49.7	44.6	28	37%	7%	12%	+15.6
16	Jeff Locke	Detroit Lions	7.5	27	45.3	42.2	11	41%	0%	41%	−3.6
17	Brad Nortman	Jacksonville Jaguars	7.6	88	44.1	38.9	29	33%	10%	29%	−10.8
18	Jordan Berry	Pittsburgh Steelers	7.7	64	43.2	39.8	26	41%	3%	38%	−1.7
19	Matt Bosher	Atlanta Falcons	8.1	53	44.9	40.8	19	36%	4%	42%	−4.8
20	Sam Koch	Baltimore Ravens	8.1	85	44.8	40.3	40	47%	4%	21%	+0.7
21	Sam Martin	Detroit Lions	8.3	41	43.4	37.6	13	32%	15%	29%	−9.4
22	Riley Dixon	Denver Broncos	8.6	75	45.6	40.2	23	31%	4%	32%	−10.1
23	Ryan Quigley	Minnesota Vikings	8.9	71	42.2	39.2	29	41%	0%	46%	−7.1
24	Kevin Huber	Cincinnati Bengals	9.5	89	46.6	40.8	32	36%	3%	26%	−12.1
25	Lac Edwards	New York Jets	10.0	94	46.6	40.5	33	35%	4%	24%	−10.4
26	Jon Ryan	Seattle Seahawks	10.0	92	45.0	38.8	29	32%	7%	21%	−4.3
27	Thomas Morstead	New Orleans Saints	10.4	60	47.0	42.2	26	43%	3%	30%	−0.7
28	Brad Wing	New York Giants	10.4	97	44.1	36.7	19	20%	9%	21%	−36.2
29	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	10.4	87	47.0	39.7	27	31%	7%	17%	+2.3
30	Andy Lee	Arizona Cardinals	10.5	88	47.3	39.7	29	33%	9%	15%	−5.7
31	Britton Colquitt	Cleveland Browns	10.7	81	47.6	40.6	24	30%	3%	16%	−6.3
32	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	11.2	83	45.7	39.0	33	40%	7%	31%	−12.4
33	Shane Lechler	Houston Texans	12.4	92	49.0	41.3	32	35%	5%	24%	−1.2

All 2017 NFL punter rankings

Average Punt Return Allowed in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2016

More 2017 NFL punter leaderboards

Other 2017 NFL rankings

Loading the interactive stats…