2026 NFL Opponent Starting Field Position Leaders

The average yard line, counted from the receiving team's own goal line, where it took over after a punt, including the return. A touchback counts as the 20. Blocked punts are left out.

Lowest comes first: a 24.0 means opponents began, on average, at their own 24. It folds distance, placement and returns into one number. In 2026, Matt Araiza (16.1) topped NFL punters in opponent starting field position, ahead of Ryan Rehkow (19.7) and Tommy Doman Jr. (19.8). 33 punters qualify (minimum 12 punts). The median qualified punter had 23.6. This season is in progress (through Week 7), so the numbers change each week.

Data through Week 7 of the 2026 season, updated October 24, 2026.

Rk	Player	Team	Opp start	Punts	Avg	Net	In 20	In 20 %	TB %	FC %	Points
1	Matt Araiza	Kansas City Chiefs	16.1	14	52.4	45.1	9	64%	14%	21%	+1.3
2	Ryan Rehkow	Cincinnati Bengals	19.7	16	44.9	39.8	9	56%	0%	44%	−2.3
3	Tommy Doman Jr.	Buffalo Bills	19.8	12	48.7	46.0	6	50%	0%	58%	+0.3
4	Bryan Anger	Dallas Cowboys	19.8	13	48.5	42.8	9	69%	0%	46%	+0.1
5	Ryan Eckley	Baltimore Ravens	20.1	26	46.9	42.5	13	50%	8%	35%	−0.6
6	Michael Dickson	Seattle Seahawks	20.3	25	43.7	42.4	11	44%	4%	36%	+14.2
7	Mitch Wishnowsky	New England Patriots	20.4	22	47.1	41.2	10	45%	14%	36%	+1.3
8	Sam Martin	Carolina Panthers	20.6	18	46.6	42.6	11	61%	11%	50%	+0.4
9	AJ Cole	Las Vegas Raiders	21.0	22	50.6	43.3	8	36%	9%	18%	−3.7
10	Cameron Johnston	Pittsburgh Steelers	21.3	26	49.5	44.2	13	50%	8%	19%	+8.7
11	Corliss Waitman	San Francisco 49ers	21.6	20	47.4	44.5	9	45%	5%	45%	+5.4
12	Daniel Whelan	Green Bay Packers	21.9	25	49.7	45.0	14	56%	8%	20%	+2.9
13	Jack Fox	Detroit Lions	22.4	19	47.8	43.3	8	42%	5%	32%	+1.2
14	Jeremy Crawshaw	Denver Broncos	22.4	32	49.0	44.7	14	44%	6%	22%	+1.2
15	Logan Cooke	Jacksonville Jaguars	23.5	19	47.6	42.1	7	37%	5%	11%	+3.0
16	Jordan Stout	New York Giants	23.5	23	52.0	44.5	11	48%	4%	17%	+4.2
17	Tory Taylor	Chicago Bears	23.6	19	49.7	43.4	7	37%	11%	16%	+12.7
18	Jake Bailey	Atlanta Falcons	24.3	21	49.3	40.3	8	38%	14%	38%	−0.4
19	Corey Bojorquez	Cleveland Browns	24.6	31	50.3	44.6	10	32%	6%	16%	+5.0
20	Tommy Townsend	Tennessee Titans	25.1	28	49.3	41.7	9	32%	18%	14%	−1.0
21	Brett Thorson	Minnesota Vikings	25.2	13	45.3	40.2	6	46%	8%	46%	−4.1
22	Braden Mann	Philadelphia Eagles	25.3	33	47.7	41.8	14	42%	3%	12%	+4.6
23	Ryan Wright	New Orleans Saints	25.6	25	46.4	39.8	11	44%	0%	32%	−4.9
24	Rigoberto Sanchez	Indianapolis Colts	25.7	15	52.1	40.3	6	40%	0%	29%	−6.1
25	Tress Way	Washington Commanders	25.9	28	48.8	42.7	10	36%	7%	39%	−0.5
26	Bradley Pinion	Miami Dolphins	26.2	17	45.5	39.6	6	35%	0%	29%	−2.9
27	Austin McNamara	New York Jets	26.4	27	47.0	40.4	9	33%	7%	26%	−5.1
28	Kai Kroeger	Houston Texans	27.7	23	48.1	43.4	8	35%	0%	26%	−2.7
29	Blake Gillikin	Arizona Cardinals	28.1	28	45.2	38.2	8	29%	11%	25%	−8.0
30	J.K. Scott	Los Angeles Chargers	28.8	26	47.9	40.7	7	27%	12%	40%	−4.6
31	Ethan Evans	Los Angeles Rams	29.4	19	48.3	38.1	6	32%	16%	32%	−7.9
32	Johnny Hekker	Minnesota Vikings	29.4	12	43.6	38.6	2	17%	8%	33%	−1.6
33	Riley Dixon	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	31.6	27	43.7	38.0	5	19%	4%	44%	−10.1

All 2026 NFL punter rankings

Opponent Starting Field Position in other seasons: 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

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