2021 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 2021, Tommy Townsend (4.3) topped NFL punters in average punt return allowed, ahead of Matt Haack (5.6) and Sam Martin (6.4). 32 punters qualify (minimum 10 returns). The median qualified punter had 8.7.

Final 2021 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Avg ret	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Tommy Townsend	Kansas City Chiefs	4.3	37	47.2	43.3	20	54%	11%	24%	+17.0
2	Matt Haack	Buffalo Bills	5.6	53	42.9	37.6	18	34%	13%	21%	−2.0
3	Sam Martin	Denver Broncos	6.4	67	46.0	42.8	28	42%	4%	36%	+12.6
4	Bryan Anger	Dallas Cowboys	6.5	65	48.4	44.6	24	37%	6%	37%	+9.8
5	Michael Dickson	Seattle Seahawks	7.3	83	46.9	41.7	40	48%	12%	27%	+8.4
6	Sam Koch	Baltimore Ravens	7.4	71	44.4	40.0	26	37%	6%	23%	+3.1
7	Bradley Pinion	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	7.7	56	42.5	38.9	23	41%	4%	30%	−1.8
8	Mitch Wishnowsky	San Francisco 49ers	7.8	57	45.0	40.5	21	37%	9%	26%	+12.7
9	Cameron Johnston	Houston Texans	7.9	88	46.7	41.7	37	42%	5%	25%	+12.9
10	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	8.2	65	47.3	43.6	28	43%	2%	41%	+5.8
11	Kevin Huber	Cincinnati Bengals	8.4	66	46.4	41.0	22	33%	9%	23%	−0.3
12	Riley Dixon	New York Giants	8.5	74	44.4	39.5	24	32%	8%	20%	−8.1
13	Jamie Gillan	Cleveland Browns	8.5	42	43.9	39.5	15	36%	2%	29%	+5.1
14	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	8.6	52	47.3	39.6	23	44%	12%	27%	−9.0
15	Jordan Berry	Minnesota Vikings	8.7	79	46.5	40.8	26	33%	4%	19%	−13.7
16	Lachlan Edwards	Carolina Panthers	8.7	39	47.9	40.5	8	21%	5%	24%	−9.1
17	Michael Palardy	Miami Dolphins	8.7	78	44.7	40.1	31	40%	6%	35%	+3.8
18	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	8.8	65	49.2	42.3	17	26%	11%	15%	−1.3
19	Andy Lee	Arizona Cardinals	8.8	51	49.0	41.9	12	24%	10%	16%	−3.0
20	Blake Gillikin	New Orleans Saints	9.1	83	47.7	42.0	29	35%	5%	22%	−0.1
21	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	9.1	61	48.4	41.4	22	36%	12%	23%	+3.3
22	Arryn Siposs	Philadelphia Eagles	9.4	55	43.9	38.7	17	31%	5%	22%	−6.7
23	Dustin Colquitt	Atlanta Falcons	9.4	49	44.5	38.3	13	27%	6%	21%	−14.4
24	Braden Mann	New York Jets	9.4	42	45.7	40.6	14	33%	2%	15%	−1.4
25	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	9.5	59	44.5	39.7	24	41%	2%	25%	+4.4
26	Pressley Harvin	Pittsburgh Steelers	9.7	70	42.6	38.0	25	36%	4%	27%	−10.7
27	Thomas Morstead	Atlanta Falcons	10.1	45	47.2	42.0	18	40%	4%	38%	+2.6
28	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	10.3	47	44.8	40.4	18	38%	2%	23%	−4.7
29	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	11.0	62	46.2	38.5	19	31%	8%	21%	−1.4
30	Ty Long	Los Angeles Chargers	11.1	47	45.5	36.8	11	23%	4%	11%	−14.8
31	A.J. Cole	Las Vegas Raiders	12.2	64	50.0	42.5	28	44%	11%	27%	+7.3
32	Corey Bojorquez	Green Bay Packers	12.8	53	46.5	40.0	18	34%	8%	23%	+13.5

All 2021 NFL punter rankings

Average Punt Return Allowed in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

More 2021 NFL punter leaderboards

Other 2021 NFL rankings

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