2018 NFL Return Yards Allowed per Punt Leaders

Total return yards allowed divided by every punt that was not blocked, so a fair catch or an out-of-bounds punt counts as zero. College punts whose play text records no outcome are left out. It is the fairest single measure of how much a returner gets to work with.

Lowest comes first. Coverage teams share the credit. In 2018, Thomas Morstead (1.4) topped NFL punters in return yards allowed per punt, ahead of Rigoberto Sanchez (1.6) and Logan Cooke (2.1). 32 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 3.2.

Final 2018 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Ret yds/punt	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Thomas Morstead	New Orleans Saints	1.4	43	46.4	43.2	15	35%	9%	35%	−2.7
2	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	1.6	57	46.1	42.7	24	42%	9%	32%	+6.6
3	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	2.1	86	45.0	41.3	37	43%	8%	21%	+12.0
4	Dustin Colquitt	Kansas City Chiefs	2.2	45	44.9	40.5	21	47%	11%	27%	+11.9
5	Johnny Hekker	Los Angeles Rams	2.4	43	46.3	43.0	21	49%	5%	16%	+3.8
6	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	2.4	63	45.0	39.7	28	44%	11%	32%	−4.5
7	Riley Dixon	New York Giants	2.5	71	45.4	41.5	20	28%	7%	23%	+10.0
8	Matt Wile	Minnesota Vikings	2.6	73	45.2	41.5	27	37%	3%	26%	+4.9
9	Bradley Pinion	San Francisco 49ers	2.9	69	43.7	39.1	22	32%	6%	41%	−2.6
10	J.K. Scott	Green Bay Packers	2.9	72	44.7	38.8	19	26%	13%	38%	−5.4
11	Michael Palardy	Carolina Panthers	3.0	61	45.2	41.0	24	39%	7%	39%	+11.9
12	Donnie Jones	Los Angeles Chargers	3.0	47	42.3	38.0	15	32%	6%	28%	−4.0
13	Corey Bojorquez	Buffalo Bills	3.0	46	45.1	39.4	22	48%	9%	20%	−6.7
14	Matt Bosher	Atlanta Falcons	3.1	62	45.5	40.1	22	35%	5%	35%	−7.3
15	Kevin Huber	Cincinnati Bengals	3.1	72	43.9	39.4	29	40%	4%	34%	−0.2
16	Cameron Johnston	Philadelphia Eagles	3.2	61	48.1	42.7	24	39%	11%	26%	+12.1
17	Trevor Daniel	Houston Texans	3.2	74	43.7	39.1	36	49%	7%	31%	+8.3
18	Johnny Townsend	Las Vegas Raiders	3.4	70	43.2	38.3	17	24%	7%	31%	−9.9
19	Jordan Berry	Pittsburgh Steelers	3.6	63	43.7	38.8	28	44%	6%	40%	−6.8
20	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	3.8	79	45.3	41.5	41	52%	0%	33%	+11.1
21	Lac Edwards	New York Jets	3.9	82	45.9	40.8	23	28%	6%	18%	−1.8
22	Michael Dickson	Seattle Seahawks	3.9	79	48.2	42.5	28	35%	6%	13%	+7.6
23	Ryan Allen	New England Patriots	4.0	64	45.1	39.5	21	33%	8%	13%	−5.1
24	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	4.0	75	47.1	41.7	39	52%	4%	22%	+11.5
25	Bryan Anger	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4.1	58	45.0	38.9	15	26%	7%	28%	+3.0
26	Chris Jones	Dallas Cowboys	4.2	60	44.5	39.6	17	28%	3%	27%	−14.1
27	Matt Haack	Miami Dolphins	4.4	88	44.6	38.4	35	40%	7%	29%	+4.8
28	Andy Lee	Arizona Cardinals	4.5	94	48.6	42.6	32	34%	7%	26%	+4.4
29	Sam Martin	Detroit Lions	4.5	74	44.7	39.2	32	43%	5%	34%	−9.1
30	Colby Wadman	Denver Broncos	4.6	65	44.7	37.9	22	34%	11%	28%	0.0
31	Britton Colquitt	Cleveland Browns	4.8	85	45.4	38.2	32	38%	7%	27%	−8.8
32	Sam Koch	Baltimore Ravens	5.3	61	47.4	39.8	27	44%	8%	17%	+0.7

All 2018 NFL punter rankings

Return Yards Allowed per Punt in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2017 2016

More 2018 NFL punter leaderboards

Other 2018 NFL rankings

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