2021 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 2021, Blake Gillikin (391) led NFL punters in punt return yards allowed, ahead of Pat O'Donnell (375) and Cameron Johnston (355). 41 punters qualify.

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

Rk	Player	Team	Ret yds	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Blake Gillikin	New Orleans Saints	391	83	47.7	42.0	29	35%	5%	22%	−0.1
2	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	375	62	46.2	38.5	19	31%	8%	21%	−1.4
3	Cameron Johnston	Houston Texans	355	88	46.7	41.7	37	42%	5%	25%	+12.9
4	A.J. Cole	Las Vegas Raiders	341	64	50.0	42.5	28	44%	11%	27%	+7.3
5	Jordan Berry	Minnesota Vikings	339	79	46.5	40.8	26	33%	4%	19%	−13.7
6	Ty Long	Los Angeles Chargers	323	47	45.5	36.8	11	23%	4%	11%	−14.8
7	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	308	65	49.2	42.3	17	26%	11%	15%	−1.3
8	Corey Bojorquez	Green Bay Packers	268	53	46.5	40.0	18	34%	8%	23%	+13.5
9	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	267	59	44.5	39.7	24	41%	2%	25%	+4.4
10	Andy Lee	Arizona Cardinals	265	51	49.0	41.9	12	24%	10%	16%	−3.0
11	Michael Palardy	Miami Dolphins	262	78	44.7	40.1	31	40%	6%	35%	+3.8
12	Pressley Harvin	Pittsburgh Steelers	261	70	42.6	38.0	25	36%	4%	27%	−10.7
13	Riley Dixon	New York Giants	237	74	44.4	39.5	24	32%	8%	20%	−8.1
14	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	237	61	48.4	41.4	22	36%	12%	23%	+3.3
15	Kevin Huber	Cincinnati Bengals	235	66	46.4	41.0	22	33%	9%	23%	−0.3
16	Michael Dickson	Seattle Seahawks	234	83	46.9	41.7	40	48%	12%	27%	+8.4
17	Sam Koch	Baltimore Ravens	228	71	44.4	40.0	26	37%	6%	23%	+3.1
18	Arryn Siposs	Philadelphia Eagles	225	55	43.9	38.7	17	31%	5%	22%	−6.7
19	Lachlan Edwards	Carolina Panthers	200	39	47.9	40.5	8	21%	5%	24%	−9.1
20	Dustin Colquitt	Atlanta Falcons	197	49	44.5	38.3	13	27%	6%	21%	−14.4
21	Thomas Morstead	Atlanta Falcons	191	45	47.2	42.0	18	40%	4%	38%	+2.6
22	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	185	47	44.8	40.4	18	38%	2%	23%	−4.7
23	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	173	65	47.3	43.6	28	43%	2%	41%	+5.8
24	Bryan Anger	Dallas Cowboys	163	65	48.4	44.6	24	37%	6%	37%	+9.8
25	Bradley Pinion	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	162	56	42.5	38.9	23	41%	4%	30%	−1.8
26	Jamie Gillan	Cleveland Browns	162	42	43.9	39.5	15	36%	2%	29%	+5.1
27	Mitch Wishnowsky	San Francisco 49ers	156	57	45.0	40.5	21	37%	9%	26%	+12.7
28	Sam Martin	Denver Broncos	154	67	46.0	42.8	28	42%	4%	36%	+12.6
29	Braden Mann	New York Jets	151	42	45.7	40.6	14	33%	2%	15%	−1.4
30	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	138	52	47.3	39.6	23	44%	12%	27%	−9.0
31	Matt Haack	Buffalo Bills	96	53	42.9	37.6	18	34%	13%	21%	−2.0
32	Tommy Townsend	Kansas City Chiefs	64	37	47.2	43.3	20	54%	11%	24%	+17.0
33	Cameron Nizialek	Atlanta Falcons	61	18	45.4	39.8	6	33%	11%	17%	−3.5
34	Johnny Hekker	Los Angeles Rams	60	51	44.2	42.6	23	45%	2%	49%	+2.3
35	Johnny Townsend	Tennessee Titans	58	13	42.8	36.8	2	15%	8%	38%	−2.0
36	Corliss Waitman	Pittsburgh Steelers	47	7	52.1	42.6	1	14%	14%	0%	−0.5
37	Joseph Charlton	Carolina Panthers	40	25	40.5	36.5	8	32%	4%	58%	−6.1
38	Matt Ammendola	New York Jets	36	6	48.5	42.5	2	33%	0%	17%	+0.8
39	Ryan Winslow	Carolina Panthers	26	16	39.1	37.4	3	19%	0%	19%	+0.1
40	Sterling Hofrichter	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	22	6	37.8	34.2	3	50%	0%	67%	−2.4
41	Tristan Vizcaino	Los Angeles Chargers	6	1	32.0	26.0	1	100%	0%	0%	−0.3

All 2021 NFL punter rankings

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

More 2021 NFL punter leaderboards

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