2026 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 2026, Ryan Wright (+1.8) led NFL punters in touchbacks avoided (STOP rank), ahead of Bryan Anger (+1.1) and Bradley Pinion (+1.1). 33 punters qualify (minimum 12 punts). The median qualified punter had +0.1. 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 | STOP | Punts | Avg | Net | In 20 | In 20 % | TB % | FC % | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Wright | New Orleans Saints | +1.8 | 25 | 46.4 | 39.8 | 11 | 44% | 0% | 32% | −4.9 |
| 2 | Bryan Anger | Dallas Cowboys | +1.1 | 13 | 48.5 | 42.8 | 9 | 69% | 0% | 46% | +0.1 |
| 3 | Bradley Pinion | Miami Dolphins | +1.1 | 17 | 45.5 | 39.6 | 6 | 35% | 0% | 29% | −2.9 |
| 4 | Ryan Rehkow | Cincinnati Bengals | +1.1 | 16 | 44.9 | 39.8 | 9 | 56% | 0% | 44% | −2.3 |
| 5 | Braden Mann | Philadelphia Eagles | +1.1 | 33 | 47.7 | 41.8 | 14 | 42% | 3% | 12% | +4.6 |
| 6 | Kai Kroeger | Houston Texans | +1.1 | 23 | 48.1 | 43.4 | 8 | 35% | 0% | 26% | −2.7 |
| 7 | Michael Dickson | Seattle Seahawks | +1.0 | 25 | 43.7 | 42.4 | 11 | 44% | 4% | 36% | +14.2 |
| 8 | Tommy Doman Jr. | Buffalo Bills | +0.8 | 12 | 48.7 | 46.0 | 6 | 50% | 0% | 58% | +0.3 |
| 9 | Rigoberto Sanchez | Indianapolis Colts | +0.6 | 15 | 52.1 | 40.3 | 6 | 40% | 0% | 29% | −6.1 |
| 10 | Riley Dixon | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +0.5 | 27 | 43.7 | 38.0 | 5 | 19% | 4% | 44% | −10.1 |
| 11 | Jack Fox | Detroit Lions | +0.4 | 19 | 47.8 | 43.3 | 8 | 42% | 5% | 32% | +1.2 |
| 12 | Corliss Waitman | San Francisco 49ers | +0.3 | 20 | 47.4 | 44.5 | 9 | 45% | 5% | 45% | +5.4 |
| 13 | Ryan Eckley | Baltimore Ravens | +0.3 | 26 | 46.9 | 42.5 | 13 | 50% | 8% | 35% | −0.6 |
| 14 | Jordan Stout | New York Giants | +0.2 | 23 | 52.0 | 44.5 | 11 | 48% | 4% | 17% | +4.2 |
| 15 | Jeremy Crawshaw | Denver Broncos | +0.2 | 32 | 49.0 | 44.7 | 14 | 44% | 6% | 22% | +1.2 |
| 16 | Logan Cooke | Jacksonville Jaguars | +0.1 | 19 | 47.6 | 42.1 | 7 | 37% | 5% | 11% | +3.0 |
| 17 | Brett Thorson | Minnesota Vikings | +0.1 | 13 | 45.3 | 40.2 | 6 | 46% | 8% | 46% | −4.1 |
| 18 | Cameron Johnston | Pittsburgh Steelers | +0.1 | 26 | 49.5 | 44.2 | 13 | 50% | 8% | 19% | +8.7 |
| 19 | Corey Bojorquez | Cleveland Browns | −0.1 | 31 | 50.3 | 44.6 | 10 | 32% | 6% | 16% | +5.0 |
| 20 | Austin McNamara | New York Jets | −0.1 | 27 | 47.0 | 40.4 | 9 | 33% | 7% | 26% | −5.1 |
| 21 | Johnny Hekker | Minnesota Vikings | −0.1 | 12 | 43.6 | 38.6 | 2 | 17% | 8% | 33% | −1.6 |
| 22 | AJ Cole | Las Vegas Raiders | −0.2 | 22 | 50.6 | 43.3 | 8 | 36% | 9% | 18% | −3.7 |
| 23 | Tress Way | Washington Commanders | −0.2 | 28 | 48.8 | 42.7 | 10 | 36% | 7% | 39% | −0.5 |
| 24 | Daniel Whelan | Green Bay Packers | −0.3 | 25 | 49.7 | 45.0 | 14 | 56% | 8% | 20% | +2.9 |
| 25 | Sam Martin | Carolina Panthers | −0.5 | 18 | 46.6 | 42.6 | 11 | 61% | 11% | 50% | +0.4 |
| 26 | Matt Araiza | Kansas City Chiefs | −0.8 | 14 | 52.4 | 45.1 | 9 | 64% | 14% | 21% | +1.3 |
| 27 | Mitch Wishnowsky | New England Patriots | −0.8 | 22 | 47.1 | 41.2 | 10 | 45% | 14% | 36% | +1.3 |
| 28 | Tory Taylor | Chicago Bears | −0.8 | 19 | 49.7 | 43.4 | 7 | 37% | 11% | 16% | +12.7 |
| 29 | Blake Gillikin | Arizona Cardinals | −0.8 | 28 | 45.2 | 38.2 | 8 | 29% | 11% | 25% | −8.0 |
| 30 | Jake Bailey | Atlanta Falcons | −1.2 | 21 | 49.3 | 40.3 | 8 | 38% | 14% | 38% | −0.4 |
| 31 | Ethan Evans | Los Angeles Rams | −1.7 | 19 | 48.3 | 38.1 | 6 | 32% | 16% | 32% | −7.9 |
| 32 | J.K. Scott | Los Angeles Chargers | −1.7 | 26 | 47.9 | 40.7 | 7 | 27% | 12% | 40% | −4.6 |
| 33 | Tommy Townsend | Tennessee Titans | −2.6 | 28 | 49.3 | 41.7 | 9 | 32% | 18% | 14% | −1.0 |
Touchbacks Avoided (STOP Rank) in other seasons: 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
More 2026 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 2026 NFL rankings
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