2017 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 2017, Shane Lechler (608) led NFL punters in punt return yards allowed, ahead of Pat O'Donnell (512) and Andy Lee (506). 33 punters qualify.

Final 2017 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	608	92	49.0	41.3	32	35%	5%	24%	−1.2
2	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	512	87	47.0	39.7	27	31%	7%	17%	+2.3
3	Andy Lee	Arizona Cardinals	506	88	47.3	39.7	29	33%	9%	15%	−5.7
4	Lac Edwards	New York Jets	491	94	46.6	40.5	33	35%	4%	24%	−10.4
5	Britton Colquitt	Cleveland Browns	482	81	47.6	40.6	24	30%	3%	16%	−6.3
6	Jon Ryan	Seattle Seahawks	452	92	45.0	38.8	29	32%	7%	21%	−4.3
7	Brad Wing	New York Giants	448	97	44.1	36.7	19	20%	9%	21%	−36.2
8	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	435	83	45.7	39.0	33	40%	7%	31%	−12.4
9	Kevin Huber	Cincinnati Bengals	408	89	46.6	40.8	32	36%	3%	26%	−12.1
10	Drew Kaser	Los Angeles Chargers	319	74	48.1	41.3	27	36%	12%	8%	+2.8
11	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	286	75	49.7	44.6	28	37%	7%	12%	+15.6
12	Sam Koch	Baltimore Ravens	277	85	44.8	40.3	40	47%	4%	21%	+0.7
13	Riley Dixon	Denver Broncos	258	75	45.6	40.2	23	31%	4%	32%	−10.1
14	Thomas Morstead	New Orleans Saints	249	60	47.0	42.2	26	43%	3%	30%	−0.7
15	Brad Nortman	Jacksonville Jaguars	228	88	44.1	38.9	29	33%	10%	29%	−10.8
16	Matt Haack	Miami Dolphins	220	83	44.5	40.7	30	36%	6%	24%	+7.8
17	Ryan Quigley	Minnesota Vikings	213	71	42.2	39.2	29	41%	0%	46%	−7.1
18	Colton Schmidt	Buffalo Bills	210	79	44.7	40.5	28	35%	8%	20%	+6.3
19	Marquette King	Las Vegas Raiders	205	69	47.4	42.7	28	41%	9%	22%	+22.4
20	Matt Bosher	Atlanta Falcons	179	53	44.9	40.8	19	36%	4%	42%	−4.8
21	Jordan Berry	Pittsburgh Steelers	177	64	43.2	39.8	26	41%	3%	38%	−1.7
22	Michael Palardy	Carolina Panthers	176	71	46.0	42.4	25	35%	6%	30%	+1.3
23	Donnie Jones	Philadelphia Eagles	171	68	45.3	40.6	21	31%	7%	21%	+0.2
24	Justin Vogel	Green Bay Packers	164	71	44.4	41.6	19	27%	3%	34%	−3.4
25	Dustin Colquitt	Kansas City Chiefs	164	65	45.2	41.1	29	45%	8%	34%	+11.6
26	Bryan Anger	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	153	66	44.0	39.5	24	36%	8%	32%	+8.9
27	Johnny Hekker	Los Angeles Rams	152	65	47.9	44.3	30	46%	6%	18%	+11.3
28	Bradley Pinion	San Francisco 49ers	144	75	43.4	41.2	31	41%	1%	31%	+7.6
29	Sam Martin	Detroit Lions	116	41	43.4	37.6	13	32%	15%	29%	−9.4
30	Ryan Allen	New England Patriots	105	58	43.4	40.5	24	41%	5%	24%	+7.8
31	Jeff Locke	Detroit Lions	82	27	45.3	42.2	11	41%	0%	41%	−3.6
32	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	80	85	44.8	42.6	28	33%	4%	32%	+12.6
33	Chris Jones	Dallas Cowboys	75	66	44.1	41.4	34	52%	8%	30%	+14.2

All 2017 NFL punter rankings

Punt Return Yards 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…