2021 NFL Opponent Starting Field Position Leaders

The average yard line, counted from the receiving team's own goal line, where it took over after a punt, including the return. A touchback counts as the 20. Blocked punts are left out.

Lowest comes first: a 24.0 means opponents began, on average, at their own 24. It folds distance, placement and returns into one number. In 2021, Tommy Townsend (21.2) topped NFL punters in opponent starting field position, ahead of Michael Dickson (21.3) and Thomas Morstead (21.9). 33 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 25.2.

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

Rk	Player	Team	Opp start	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Tommy Townsend	Kansas City Chiefs	21.2	37	47.2	43.3	20	54%	11%	24%	+17.0
2	Michael Dickson	Seattle Seahawks	21.3	83	46.9	41.7	40	48%	12%	27%	+8.4
3	Thomas Morstead	Atlanta Falcons	21.9	45	47.2	42.0	18	40%	4%	38%	+2.6
4	A.J. Cole	Las Vegas Raiders	21.9	64	50.0	42.5	28	44%	11%	27%	+7.3
5	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	22.2	52	47.3	39.6	23	44%	12%	27%	−9.0
6	Johnny Hekker	Los Angeles Rams	22.8	51	44.2	42.6	23	45%	2%	49%	+2.3
7	Sam Martin	Denver Broncos	23.0	67	46.0	42.8	28	42%	4%	36%	+12.6
8	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	23.3	61	48.4	41.4	22	36%	12%	23%	+3.3
9	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	23.5	65	47.3	43.6	28	43%	2%	41%	+5.8
10	Cameron Johnston	Houston Texans	23.6	88	46.7	41.7	37	42%	5%	25%	+12.9
11	Bryan Anger	Dallas Cowboys	23.8	65	48.4	44.6	24	37%	6%	37%	+9.8
12	Kevin Huber	Cincinnati Bengals	23.9	66	46.4	41.0	22	33%	9%	23%	−0.3
13	Blake Gillikin	New Orleans Saints	24.0	83	47.7	42.0	29	35%	5%	22%	−0.1
14	Michael Palardy	Miami Dolphins	24.2	78	44.7	40.1	31	40%	6%	35%	+3.8
15	Jamie Gillan	Cleveland Browns	24.3	42	43.9	39.5	15	36%	2%	29%	+5.1
16	Matt Haack	Buffalo Bills	24.9	53	42.9	37.6	18	34%	13%	21%	−2.0
17	Corey Bojorquez	Green Bay Packers	25.2	53	46.5	40.0	18	34%	8%	23%	+13.5
18	Sam Koch	Baltimore Ravens	25.2	71	44.4	40.0	26	37%	6%	23%	+3.1
19	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	25.3	65	49.2	42.3	17	26%	11%	15%	−1.3
20	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	25.3	47	44.8	40.4	18	38%	2%	23%	−4.7
21	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	25.6	59	44.5	39.7	24	41%	2%	25%	+4.4
22	Bradley Pinion	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	25.8	56	42.5	38.9	23	41%	4%	30%	−1.8
23	Riley Dixon	New York Giants	26.1	74	44.4	39.5	24	32%	8%	20%	−8.1
24	Mitch Wishnowsky	San Francisco 49ers	26.5	57	45.0	40.5	21	37%	9%	26%	+12.7
25	Jordan Berry	Minnesota Vikings	26.6	79	46.5	40.8	26	33%	4%	19%	−13.7
26	Dustin Colquitt	Atlanta Falcons	27.1	49	44.5	38.3	13	27%	6%	21%	−14.4
27	Andy Lee	Arizona Cardinals	27.3	51	49.0	41.9	12	24%	10%	16%	−3.0
28	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	27.7	62	46.2	38.5	19	31%	8%	21%	−1.4
29	Pressley Harvin	Pittsburgh Steelers	27.7	70	42.6	38.0	25	36%	4%	27%	−10.7
30	Braden Mann	New York Jets	28.3	42	45.7	40.6	14	33%	2%	15%	−1.4
31	Arryn Siposs	Philadelphia Eagles	28.9	55	43.9	38.7	17	31%	5%	22%	−6.7
32	Lachlan Edwards	Carolina Panthers	30.4	39	47.9	40.5	8	21%	5%	24%	−9.1
33	Ty Long	Los Angeles Chargers	30.8	47	45.5	36.8	11	23%	4%	11%	−14.8

All 2021 NFL punter rankings

Opponent Starting Field Position 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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