2025 NFL Average Punt Return Allowed Leaders
Return yards allowed divided by punts returned. It shows how well a punter and his coverage team contain returners.
Lower is better. Only punters with enough returns are ranked. In 2025, Tress Way (4.6) topped NFL punters in average punt return allowed, ahead of Mitch Wishnowsky (6.3) and Rigoberto Sanchez (6.3). 33 punters qualify (minimum 10 returns). The median qualified punter had 10.3.
Final 2025 regular-season numbers, updated October 23, 2026.
| Rk | Player | Team | Avg ret | Punts | Avg | Net | In 20 | In 20 % | TB % | FC % | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tress Way | Washington Commanders | 4.6 | 56 | 47.3 | 43.9 | 29 | 52% | 7% | 32% | +13.6 |
| 2 | Mitch Wishnowsky | Buffalo Bills | 6.3 | 38 | 45.3 | 41.9 | 18 | 47% | 8% | 39% | −1.1 |
| 3 | Rigoberto Sanchez | Indianapolis Colts | 6.3 | 44 | 48.8 | 44.7 | 22 | 50% | 7% | 34% | +1.7 |
| 4 | Austin McNamara | New York Jets | 6.3 | 71 | 46.7 | 43.2 | 32 | 45% | 8% | 35% | +15.3 |
| 5 | Logan Cooke | Jacksonville Jaguars | 6.6 | 60 | 48.0 | 43.0 | 22 | 37% | 10% | 15% | +12.4 |
| 6 | Jordan Stout | Baltimore Ravens | 6.9 | 53 | 50.1 | 44.9 | 24 | 45% | 11% | 11% | +8.8 |
| 7 | Corliss Waitman | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7.0 | 62 | 45.5 | 41.7 | 26 | 42% | 5% | 35% | +4.4 |
| 8 | Bradley Pinion | Atlanta Falcons | 7.7 | 64 | 45.1 | 40.6 | 34 | 53% | 5% | 27% | +5.0 |
| 9 | Jack Fox | Detroit Lions | 7.9 | 56 | 46.6 | 42.8 | 28 | 50% | 4% | 46% | +4.7 |
| 10 | Riley Dixon | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8.5 | 65 | 44.7 | 38.9 | 29 | 45% | 6% | 33% | −7.3 |
| 11 | Ryan Wright | Minnesota Vikings | 8.6 | 65 | 49.0 | 44.5 | 25 | 38% | 5% | 34% | −0.7 |
| 12 | Blake Gillikin | Arizona Cardinals | 9.0 | 22 | 51.7 | 45.4 | 8 | 36% | 9% | 32% | +1.9 |
| 13 | Bryan Anger | Dallas Cowboys | 9.5 | 41 | 48.6 | 42.6 | 14 | 34% | 0% | 32% | +7.9 |
| 14 | Johnny Hekker | Tennessee Titans | 9.6 | 78 | 46.8 | 40.3 | 22 | 28% | 9% | 27% | −2.5 |
| 15 | Tommy Townsend | Houston Texans | 9.9 | 72 | 47.6 | 41.6 | 30 | 42% | 7% | 19% | +0.6 |
| 16 | Ryan Rehkow | Cincinnati Bengals | 9.9 | 65 | 50.5 | 42.9 | 28 | 43% | 17% | 18% | +7.2 |
| 17 | Braden Mann | Philadelphia Eagles | 10.3 | 72 | 49.9 | 42.8 | 20 | 28% | 11% | 15% | +1.5 |
| 18 | Jake Bailey | Miami Dolphins | 10.4 | 63 | 47.7 | 42.6 | 21 | 33% | 5% | 30% | +9.2 |
| 19 | Daniel Whelan | Green Bay Packers | 10.6 | 49 | 51.7 | 43.9 | 18 | 37% | 16% | 24% | +9.2 |
| 20 | Jeremy Crawshaw | Denver Broncos | 10.6 | 75 | 47.6 | 41.1 | 30 | 40% | 12% | 31% | −1.0 |
| 21 | Kai Kroeger | New Orleans Saints | 10.7 | 58 | 44.8 | 37.3 | 18 | 31% | 7% | 20% | −22.1 |
| 22 | Jamie Gillan | New York Giants | 11.5 | 55 | 44.5 | 38.0 | 17 | 31% | 7% | 31% | −9.4 |
| 23 | Tory Taylor | Chicago Bears | 11.8 | 60 | 47.8 | 40.4 | 21 | 35% | 12% | 15% | −8.7 |
| 24 | Bryce Baringer | New England Patriots | 12.0 | 51 | 47.4 | 40.6 | 21 | 41% | 8% | 29% | −1.0 |
| 25 | AJ Cole | Las Vegas Raiders | 12.1 | 73 | 47.6 | 39.7 | 24 | 33% | 6% | 18% | −12.8 |
| 26 | Matt Araiza | Kansas City Chiefs | 12.1 | 56 | 47.6 | 41.3 | 25 | 45% | 5% | 29% | +1.7 |
| 27 | Corey Bojorquez | Cleveland Browns | 12.7 | 93 | 45.8 | 36.8 | 23 | 25% | 12% | 19% | −19.1 |
| 28 | Thomas Morstead | San Francisco 49ers | 12.8 | 44 | 43.6 | 36.8 | 22 | 50% | 2% | 36% | −8.6 |
| 29 | Sam Martin | Carolina Panthers | 13.0 | 56 | 47.2 | 40.5 | 27 | 48% | 5% | 29% | +0.5 |
| 30 | Matt Haack | Arizona Cardinals | 13.2 | 25 | 51.3 | 43.4 | 10 | 40% | 0% | 16% | +2.2 |
| 31 | J.K. Scott | Los Angeles Chargers | 14.5 | 60 | 47.9 | 41.4 | 23 | 38% | 7% | 38% | +0.1 |
| 32 | Michael Dickson | Seattle Seahawks | 15.5 | 52 | 49.0 | 42.2 | 20 | 38% | 6% | 33% | −0.7 |
| 33 | Ethan Evans | Los Angeles Rams | 16.0 | 50 | 46.3 | 38.0 | 20 | 40% | 8% | 20% | −11.6 |
Average Punt Return Allowed in other seasons: 2026 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
More 2025 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
- Blocked Punts
- Punt Points Added
- Punt Points per 100 Punts
- Fair Catch Percentage
- Punt Touchback Percentage
- Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank)
- 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 2025 NFL rankings
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