List of NFL career punting yards leaders
In American football, a punt is a kick that is performed after a player (most often a punter) drops the ball from their hands and kicks it prior to it hitting the ground. Record keeping for punting yards in the National Football League (NFL) goes as far back as 1939.
To be eligible for career-long rankings, a player must have a minimum of 250 punts.[1] Although he never led the league in punting yards for a single-season, Jeff Feagles' longevity propelled him to become the career punting yards leader, with 71,211.[2] Feagles is the only punter to eclipse 70,000 career punting yards, and only three other punters have surpasssed the 60,000 mark. He also set the career record for total punts in 2005, when he recorded his 1,368th, surpassing Sean Landeta.[3] He later retired with 1,713 career punts, still the NFL record.[2][4]
With 1,168 punts and 52,868 punting yards for the Baltimore Ravens, Sam Koch has the most of both statistics for any individual franchise. Ranked 7th all-time in career punting yards, Koch is also the highest-ranked punter to have spent his entire career with a single team. The Kansas City Chiefs are the only other franchise to have a player punt for over 50,000 yards during their tenure with the team.
Shane Lechler, who ranks second to Feagles in both total punts and punting yards, is the NFL's all-time leader in yards per punt (47.6).[5] Lechler is also the only punter to lead two different franchises (the Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans) in career punting yards.
Net yards per punt, or net average, as opposed to a player's gross average, is considered a more revealing indicator of a punter's performance.[6] This is due to the net average taking into account return yardage or a touchback on the punt which are subtracted from the gross punting yards, or how far the ball travels on a punt.[6] Logan Cooke holds the record for career net average (43.1), although Tommy Davis holds the unofficial record (44.5),[7] having played prior to 1976, when the statistic began being officially tracked.[6]
Career punting yards leaders
^ | Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
* | Denotes player who is still active |
Career punting average leaders
* | Denotes player who is still active |
† | Denotes player's statistics are unoffical[a] |
- Yards per punt
Yards per punt | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team(s) by season | Y/P |
1 | Shane Lechler | Oakland Raiders (2000–2012) Houston Texans (2013–2017) |
47.6 |
2 | Michael Dickson* | Seattle Seahawks (2018–present) | 47.4 |
3 | Tress Way* | Washington Redskins / Football Team / Commanders (2014–present) |
47.0 |
4 | Cameron Johnston* | Philadelphia Eagles (2017–2020) Houston Texans (2021–present) |
46.9 |
5 | Johnny Hekker* | St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams (2012–2021) Carolina Panthers (2022–present) |
46.7 |
6 | Marquette King | Oakland Raiders (2012–2017) Denver Broncos (2018) |
46.7 |
7 | Brandon Fields | Miami Dolphins (2007–2014) New Orleans Saints (2015) |
46.7 |
8 | Andy Lee* | San Francisco 49ers (2004–2014) Cleveland Browns (2015) Carolina Panthers (2016) Arizona Cardinals (2017–present) |
46.6 |
9 | Thomas Morstead* | New Orleans Saints (2009–2020) New York Jets (2021) Atlanta Falcons (2021) Miami Dolphins (2022–present) |
46.6 |
10 | Logan Cooke* | Jacksonville Jaguars (2018–present) | 46.6 |
Statistics accurate through September 25, 2022 and gathered from Pro-Football-Reference.[9] |
- Net yards per punt
Net yards per punt | |||
---|---|---|---|
Rank | Player | Team(s) by season | Net |
1 | Tommy Davis† | San Francisco 49ers (1959–1969) | 44.5 |
2 | Yale Lary† | Detroit Lions (1952–1953, 1956–1964) | 43.9 |
Sammy Baugh† | Washington Redskins (1937–1952) | 43.9 | |
4 | Dave Lewis† | Cincinnati Bengals (1970–1973) | 43.7 |
5 | Jerry Norton† | Philadelphia Eagles (1954–1958) Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1961) Dallas Cowboys (1962) Green Bay Packers (1963–1964) |
43.5 |
6 | Horace Gillom† | Cleveland Browns (1947–1956) | 43.3 |
7 | Bob Scarpitto† | San Diego Chargers (1961) Denver Broncos (1962–1967) Boston Patriots (1968) |
43.2 |
Don Chandler† | New York Giants (1956–1964) Green Bay Packers (1965–1967) |
43.2 | |
9 | Logan Cooke* | Jacksonville Jaguars (2018–present) | 43.0 |
10 | Johnny Hekker* | St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams (2012–2021) Carolina Panthers (2022–present) |
42.9 |
Statistics accurate through September 25, 2022 and gathered from The Football Database.[10] |
Career franchise punting yards leaders
* | Denotes player who is still active |
‡ | Franchise with punting leader on its current roster |
See also
- List of National Football League annual punting yards leaders
- List of National Football League career punts leaders
Notes
References
- ^ "Minimum Requirements For Football Leaderboards". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ a b "Giants' Feagles retires; NFL mark intact". ESPN. April 30, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Giants' Feagles sets career punts record". New England Patriots. September 11, 2005. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "NFL Punts Career Leaders (since 1939)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "NFL Yards per Punt Career Leaders (since 1939)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Shpigel, Ben (November 2, 2017). "The N.F.L.'s Most Valuable Player Might Be ... a Punter?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ "NFL Career Leaders – Punting Net Average". The Football Database. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ "NFL Punting Yards Career Leaders (since 1939)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "NFL Yards per Punt Career Leaders (since 1939)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ "NFL Career Leaders – Punting Net Average". The Football Database. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ "Arizona Cardinals Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "Atlanta Falcons Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Baltimore Ravens Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Buffalo Bills Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "Carolina Panthers Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Chicago Bears Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Cincinnati Bengals Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Cleveland Browns Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Dallas Cowboys Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Denver Broncos Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Detroit Lions Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Green Bay Packers Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Houston Texans Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Indianapolis Colts Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Jacksonville Jaguars Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Kansas City Chiefs Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Las Vegas Raiders Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Los Angeles Chargers Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Los Angeles Rams Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Miami Dolphins Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "Minnesota Vikings Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "New England Patriots Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "New Orleans Saints Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "New York Giants Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "New York Jets Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Philadelphia Eagles Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Steelers Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "San Francisco 49ers Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Seattle Seahawks Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Tampa Bay Buccaneers Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Tennessee Titans Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Washington Commanders Career Punting Leaders". The Football Database. Retrieved August 27, 2022.