2021 NFL Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) Leaders

STOP (Saved Touchbacks Over Projection) is FootballKickingStats.com's touchback rating: how many touchbacks a punter avoided. Every punt gets an expected touchback chance: how often that season's punts from the same 5-yard stretch of the field went into the end zone. Add those chances up over a punter's season and subtract his real touchbacks. A punter who kicks often from midfield and keeps the ball out of the end zone climbs; one who punts from deep in his own end has few chances to gain or lose.

Higher is better. A STOP of +2.0 means two fewer touchbacks than an average punter would have had from the same spots. A short punt also avoids a touchback, so read it with net average. Blocked punts are left out. In 2021, Rigoberto Sanchez (+3.0) led NFL punters in touchbacks avoided (STOP rank), ahead of Johnny Hekker (+2.7) and Logan Cooke (+2.2). 33 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had +0.1.

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

Rk	Player	Team	STOP	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	+3.0	59	44.5	39.7	24	41%	2%	25%	+4.4
2	Johnny Hekker	Los Angeles Rams	+2.7	51	44.2	42.6	23	45%	2%	49%	+2.3
3	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	+2.2	65	47.3	43.6	28	43%	2%	41%	+5.8
4	Cameron Johnston	Houston Texans	+2.1	88	46.7	41.7	37	42%	5%	25%	+12.9
5	Bradley Pinion	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	+2.0	56	42.5	38.9	23	41%	4%	30%	−1.8
6	Brett Kern	Tennessee Titans	+1.9	47	44.8	40.4	18	38%	2%	23%	−4.7
7	Pressley Harvin	Pittsburgh Steelers	+1.9	70	42.6	38.0	25	36%	4%	27%	−10.7
8	Jamie Gillan	Cleveland Browns	+1.8	42	43.9	39.5	15	36%	2%	29%	+5.1
9	Blake Gillikin	New Orleans Saints	+1.4	83	47.7	42.0	29	35%	5%	22%	−0.1
10	Sam Martin	Denver Broncos	+1.3	67	46.0	42.8	28	42%	4%	36%	+12.6
11	Thomas Morstead	Atlanta Falcons	+1.0	45	47.2	42.0	18	40%	4%	38%	+2.6
12	Jordan Berry	Minnesota Vikings	+0.9	79	46.5	40.8	26	33%	4%	19%	−13.7
13	Michael Palardy	Miami Dolphins	+0.9	78	44.7	40.1	31	40%	6%	35%	+3.8
14	Braden Mann	New York Jets	+0.9	42	45.7	40.6	14	33%	2%	15%	−1.4
15	Ty Long	Los Angeles Chargers	+0.7	47	45.5	36.8	11	23%	4%	11%	−14.8
16	Sam Koch	Baltimore Ravens	+0.6	71	44.4	40.0	26	37%	6%	23%	+3.1
17	Arryn Siposs	Philadelphia Eagles	+0.1	55	43.9	38.7	17	31%	5%	22%	−6.7
18	Dustin Colquitt	Atlanta Falcons	+0.1	49	44.5	38.3	13	27%	6%	21%	−14.4
19	Corey Bojorquez	Green Bay Packers	0.0	53	46.5	40.0	18	34%	8%	23%	+13.5
20	Bryan Anger	Dallas Cowboys	−0.3	65	48.4	44.6	24	37%	6%	37%	+9.8
21	Lachlan Edwards	Carolina Panthers	−0.4	39	47.9	40.5	8	21%	5%	24%	−9.1
22	Riley Dixon	New York Giants	−1.1	74	44.4	39.5	24	32%	8%	20%	−8.1
23	Pat O'Donnell	Chicago Bears	−1.2	62	46.2	38.5	19	31%	8%	21%	−1.4
24	Mitch Wishnowsky	San Francisco 49ers	−1.4	57	45.0	40.5	21	37%	9%	26%	+12.7
25	Tommy Townsend	Kansas City Chiefs	−1.7	37	47.2	43.3	20	54%	11%	24%	+17.0
26	Kevin Huber	Cincinnati Bengals	−1.7	66	46.4	41.0	22	33%	9%	23%	−0.3
27	Andy Lee	Arizona Cardinals	−2.5	51	49.0	41.9	12	24%	10%	16%	−3.0
28	Jake Bailey	New England Patriots	−2.5	52	47.3	39.6	23	44%	12%	27%	−9.0
29	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	−2.6	61	48.4	41.4	22	36%	12%	23%	+3.3
30	A.J. Cole	Las Vegas Raiders	−2.8	64	50.0	42.5	28	44%	11%	27%	+7.3
31	Matt Haack	Buffalo Bills	−3.1	53	42.9	37.6	18	34%	13%	21%	−2.0
32	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	−3.3	65	49.2	42.3	17	26%	11%	15%	−1.3
33	Michael Dickson	Seattle Seahawks	−3.6	83	46.9	41.7	40	48%	12%	27%	+8.4

All 2021 NFL punter rankings

Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

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