2023 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 2023, Lou Hedley (2.2) topped NFL punters in return yards allowed per punt, ahead of Logan Cooke (2.3) and Ty Zentner (2.4). 33 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had 4.2.

Final 2023 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Ret yds/punt	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Lou Hedley	New Orleans Saints	2.2	75	43.0	39.7	31	41%	5%	32%	−8.8
2	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	2.3	61	47.4	43.8	29	48%	7%	36%	+17.4
3	Ty Zentner	Tennessee Titans	2.4	38	44.9	40.4	10	26%	11%	42%	−3.2
4	Riley Dixon	Denver Broncos	2.5	79	46.3	42.3	27	34%	8%	34%	+8.5
5	Johnny Hekker	Carolina Panthers	2.6	82	46.8	43.0	25	30%	6%	32%	+10.0
6	Brad Robbins	Cincinnati Bengals	2.7	76	44.3	40.3	20	26%	7%	34%	−2.4
7	Cameron Johnston	Houston Texans	2.8	66	47.7	44.0	30	45%	5%	38%	+6.2
8	Jamie Gillan	New York Giants	2.8	95	46.0	42.3	35	37%	4%	38%	+6.2
9	J.K. Scott	Los Angeles Chargers	2.9	75	46.3	42.3	30	40%	5%	41%	+0.3
10	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	2.9	57	46.4	41.7	26	46%	9%	35%	−8.4
11	Pressley Harvin	Pittsburgh Steelers	3.1	78	43.8	39.2	30	38%	8%	33%	−17.4
12	Tommy Townsend	Kansas City Chiefs	3.5	59	47.1	41.8	20	34%	8%	34%	−2.5
13	Michael Dickson	Seattle Seahawks	3.5	66	50.0	44.1	25	38%	12%	18%	+4.3
14	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	3.7	75	46.0	40.7	30	40%	3%	34%	−6.7
15	A.J. Cole	Las Vegas Raiders	3.8	75	50.4	45.1	34	45%	8%	27%	+3.2
16	Jake Bailey	Miami Dolphins	3.9	53	45.7	40.7	20	38%	6%	36%	+7.5
17	Mitch Wishnowsky	San Francisco 49ers	4.2	52	47.7	42.7	26	50%	4%	25%	+6.7
18	Ryan Wright	Minnesota Vikings	4.4	59	48.7	41.9	16	27%	12%	27%	−4.3
19	Bryce Baringer	New England Patriots	4.5	98	46.9	40.8	38	39%	8%	24%	−11.6
20	Ryan Stonehouse	Tennessee Titans	4.6	54	53.1	43.9	28	52%	19%	13%	+2.9
21	Sam Martin	Buffalo Bills	4.6	51	45.8	39.9	24	47%	6%	33%	−1.9
22	Bradley Pinion	Atlanta Falcons	4.7	75	47.0	41.5	27	36%	4%	32%	−2.4
23	Daniel Whelan	Green Bay Packers	4.7	57	46.2	39.7	18	32%	9%	39%	−2.4
24	Corey Bojorquez	Cleveland Browns	4.8	87	49.4	42.5	31	36%	10%	18%	+10.2
25	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	5.3	69	48.3	42.3	21	30%	0%	19%	−8.1
26	Braden Mann	Philadelphia Eagles	5.4	44	49.8	43.9	15	34%	2%	11%	+0.3
27	Thomas Morstead	New York Jets	5.4	99	48.8	41.8	36	36%	8%	28%	+10.9
28	Bryan Anger	Dallas Cowboys	5.6	44	51.4	44.9	17	39%	5%	30%	+1.6
29	Trenton Gill	Chicago Bears	5.7	67	46.1	38.0	18	27%	12%	19%	−19.0
30	Jake Camarda	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5.9	77	50.1	41.8	26	34%	12%	13%	−3.4
31	Blake Gillikin	Arizona Cardinals	6.2	51	50.6	43.6	11	22%	4%	18%	+14.5
32	Jordan Stout	Baltimore Ravens	6.6	67	47.8	39.2	28	42%	8%	26%	+12.2
33	Ethan Evans	Los Angeles Rams	7.9	64	49.2	38.5	20	31%	11%	19%	−22.4

All 2023 NFL punter rankings

Return Yards Allowed per Punt in other seasons: 2026 2025 2024 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

More 2023 NFL punter leaderboards

Other 2023 NFL rankings

Loading the interactive stats…