2024 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 2024, Matthew Hayball (+4.1) led NFL punters in touchbacks avoided (STOP rank), ahead of Ethan Evans (+3.2) and Jamie Gillan (+3.0). 30 punters qualify (minimum 30 punts). The median qualified punter had −0.1.
Final 2024 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.
| Rk | Player | Team | STOP | Punts | Avg | Net | In 20 | In 20 % | TB % | FC % | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Hayball | New Orleans Saints | +4.1 | 75 | 44.0 | 40.4 | 41 | 55% | 4% | 36% | −15.4 |
| 2 | Ethan Evans | Los Angeles Rams | +3.2 | 55 | 46.0 | 41.7 | 30 | 55% | 4% | 18% | −5.8 |
| 3 | Jamie Gillan | New York Giants | +3.0 | 56 | 43.7 | 40.6 | 27 | 48% | 4% | 45% | +2.4 |
| 4 | Tory Taylor | Chicago Bears | +2.9 | 82 | 47.7 | 41.6 | 34 | 41% | 5% | 28% | +5.4 |
| 5 | Logan Cooke | Jacksonville Jaguars | +1.9 | 68 | 49.4 | 44.8 | 34 | 50% | 4% | 28% | +16.3 |
| 6 | Blake Gillikin | Arizona Cardinals | +1.9 | 38 | 49.7 | 44.3 | 19 | 50% | 3% | 34% | +1.6 |
| 7 | Tress Way | Washington Commanders | +1.8 | 50 | 46.9 | 43.1 | 22 | 44% | 4% | 24% | +9.3 |
| 8 | J.K. Scott | Los Angeles Chargers | +1.6 | 72 | 46.7 | 41.9 | 28 | 39% | 6% | 33% | −9.5 |
| 9 | Johnny Hekker | Carolina Panthers | +1.5 | 74 | 45.7 | 41.9 | 24 | 32% | 4% | 27% | −3.5 |
| 10 | Riley Dixon | Denver Broncos | +1.4 | 77 | 46.7 | 42.2 | 33 | 43% | 6% | 31% | +9.8 |
| 11 | Bryan Anger | Dallas Cowboys | +1.0 | 62 | 48.5 | 42.0 | 24 | 39% | 5% | 32% | −1.0 |
| 12 | Rigoberto Sanchez | Indianapolis Colts | +0.2 | 68 | 49.7 | 42.6 | 27 | 40% | 6% | 37% | −5.2 |
| 13 | Daniel Whelan | Green Bay Packers | 0.0 | 56 | 46.1 | 40.2 | 22 | 39% | 9% | 30% | +7.0 |
| 14 | Bradley Pinion | Atlanta Falcons | −0.1 | 47 | 47.0 | 38.8 | 14 | 30% | 9% | 30% | −5.8 |
| 15 | Sam Martin | Buffalo Bills | −0.1 | 55 | 46.7 | 40.2 | 25 | 45% | 9% | 24% | −7.6 |
| 16 | Ryan Wright | Minnesota Vikings | −0.1 | 57 | 46.5 | 40.6 | 27 | 47% | 9% | 18% | −5.2 |
| 17 | Corey Bojorquez | Cleveland Browns | −0.2 | 89 | 49.3 | 41.8 | 36 | 40% | 8% | 19% | +5.1 |
| 18 | Corliss Waitman | Pittsburgh Steelers | −0.2 | 65 | 46.4 | 41.9 | 27 | 42% | 8% | 25% | +23.2 |
| 19 | Jack Fox | Detroit Lions | −0.9 | 45 | 51.0 | 46.2 | 22 | 49% | 9% | 31% | +9.3 |
| 20 | Jake Bailey | Miami Dolphins | −0.9 | 57 | 47.1 | 40.5 | 22 | 39% | 9% | 20% | −5.0 |
| 21 | Ryan Rehkow | Cincinnati Bengals | −0.9 | 53 | 49.1 | 42.9 | 25 | 47% | 9% | 30% | +7.0 |
| 22 | Tommy Townsend | Houston Texans | −1.0 | 77 | 48.0 | 44.0 | 39 | 51% | 9% | 30% | +14.8 |
| 23 | Jordan Stout | Baltimore Ravens | −1.5 | 55 | 46.4 | 41.2 | 22 | 40% | 11% | 29% | +1.2 |
| 24 | Ryan Stonehouse | Tennessee Titans | −1.9 | 75 | 50.6 | 38.6 | 22 | 29% | 10% | 12% | −20.6 |
| 25 | Thomas Morstead | New York Jets | −2.3 | 63 | 47.2 | 40.9 | 19 | 30% | 11% | 24% | +2.4 |
| 26 | Bryce Baringer | New England Patriots | −2.5 | 70 | 49.8 | 41.7 | 31 | 44% | 11% | 24% | +4.6 |
| 27 | AJ Cole | Las Vegas Raiders | −2.8 | 67 | 50.8 | 42.5 | 27 | 40% | 12% | 22% | −14.4 |
| 28 | Braden Mann | Philadelphia Eagles | −3.0 | 55 | 48.8 | 42.1 | 20 | 36% | 13% | 15% | +1.5 |
| 29 | Michael Dickson | Seattle Seahawks | −3.0 | 76 | 49.4 | 43.3 | 31 | 41% | 12% | 29% | +8.2 |
| 30 | Matt Araiza | Kansas City Chiefs | −4.2 | 62 | 48.8 | 41.8 | 25 | 40% | 15% | 34% | +2.6 |
Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) in other seasons: 2026 2025 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
More 2024 NFL punter leaderboards
- Punts
- Punting Yards
- Gross Punting Average
- Net Punting Average
- Punts Inside the 20
- Inside the 20 Percentage
- Longest Punts
- Punt Touchbacks
- Fair Catches Forced
- Punts Downed
- Punts Out of Bounds
- Punts Returned
- Punt Return Yards Allowed
- Average Punt Return Allowed
- Blocked Punts
- Punt Points Added
- Punt Points per 100 Punts
- Fair Catch Percentage
- Punt Touchback Percentage
- Punts Out of Bounds Percentage
- Punts Downed Percentage
- Punt Return Percentage
- Return Yards Allowed per Punt
- Opponent Starting Field Position
- Punts Inside the 10
- Punts of 50+ Yards
- 50+ Yard Punt Percentage
- Inside-20 to Touchback Ratio
- Net Average in Opponent Territory
- Net Average in Cold Weather
- Net Average in Wind
Other 2024 NFL rankings
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