List of NFL career punts leaders explained
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 punts in the National Football League (NFL) goes back to 1939.
To be eligible for career-long rankings, a player must have a minimum of 250 punts.[1] After his 22 seasons as an NFL punter, Jeff Feagles retired with 1,713 punts, the NFL's career record.[2] [3] Feagles is the only punter to eclipse 1,500 career punts; a total of 24 players have reached 1,000 punts during their career. Feagles set the career record for total punts while playing for the New York Giants in 2005, when he recorded his 1,368th, surpassing Sean Landeta.[4] With 1,168 punts for the Baltimore Ravens, Sam Koch has the most career punts for any individual franchise. The Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders are the only two franchises with two different players to record 1,000 punts for their teams.
Punting is a strategy in American football designed to put the opposing team at a disadvantage by dealing them with poor field position. As such, landing punts close to the receiving team's end zone is highly desired by the punting team. While techniques and strategies (such as the coffin corner punt) are utilized in this context, a punt that enters the end zone can result in a touchback if downed by the receiving team without the ball being advanced beyond their goal line. When a touchback occurs, the ball is placed at the 20-yard line.[5] As such, the ratio of inside-the-20 punts to touchbacks is of consideration.[6] The NFL began officially tracking punts landed inside the 20-yard line and those resulting in touchbacks in 1976.[7]
Feagles holds the record for punts landing inside opponents' 20-yard line with 554.[8] Shane Lechler holds the record for punting touchbacks with 178.[9]
Career punts leaders
| Rank | Player | Team(s) by season | Punts |
|---|
| 1 | Jeff Feagles | New England Patriots (1988–1989)
Philadelphia Eagles (1990–1993)
Arizona Cardinals (1994–1997)
Seattle Seahawks (1998–2002)
New York Giants (2003–2009) | 1,713 |
| 2 | Andy Lee | San Francisco 49ers (2004–2014)
Cleveland Browns (2015)
Carolina Panthers (2016)
Arizona Cardinals (2017–2022) | 1,466 |
| 3 | Shane Lechler | Oakland Raiders (2000–2012)
Houston Texans (2013–2017) | 1,444 |
| 4 | Sean Landeta | New York Giants (1985–1993)
Los Angeles / St. Louis Rams (1993–1996, 2003–2004)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1997)
Green Bay Packers (1998)
Philadelphia Eagles (1999–2002, 2005) | 1,401 |
| 5 | Brad Maynard | New York Giants (1997–2000)
Chicago Bears (2001–2010)
Cleveland Browns (2011) | 1,339 |
| 6 | Lee Johnson | Houston Oilers (1985–1987)
Cleveland Browns (1987–1988)
Cincinnati Bengals (1988–1998)
New England Patriots (1999–2001)
Minnesota Vikings (2001)
Philadelphia Eagles (2002) | 1,226 |
| 7 | Dustin Colquitt | Kansas City Chiefs (2005–2019)
Pittsburgh Steelers (2020)
Jacksonville Jaguars (2020)
Atlanta Falcons (2021)
Cleveland Browns (2021) | 1,198 |
| 8 | Chris Gardocki | Chicago Bears (1991–1994)
Indianapolis Colts (1995–1998)
Cleveland Browns (1999–2003)
Pittsburgh Steelers (2004–2006) | 1,177 |
| 9 | Sam Koch | Baltimore Ravens (2006–2021) | 1,168 |
| 10 | Donnie Jones | Seattle Seahawks (2004)
Miami Dolphins (2005–2006)
St. Louis Rams (2007–2011)
Houston Texans (2012)
Philadelphia Eagles (2013–2017)
Los Angeles Chargers (2018) | 1,157 |
| 11 | Dave Jennings | New York Giants (1974–1984)
New York Jets (1985–1987) | 1,154 |
| 12 | Chris Mohr | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1989)
Buffalo Bills (1991–2000)
Atlanta Falcons (2001–2004) | 1,152 |
| 13 | Craig Hentrich | Green Bay Packers (1994–1997)
Tennessee Oilers / Titans (1999–2009) | 1,150 |
| 14 | Matt Turk | Washington Redskins (1995–1999)
Miami Dolphins (2000–2001, 2003–2005)
New York Jets (2002)
St. Louis Rams (2006)
Houston Texans (2007–2011)
Jacksonville Jaguars (2011) | 1,143 |
| 15 | Rohn Stark | Baltimore Colts (1982–1983)
Indianapolis Colts (1984–1994)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1995)
Carolina Panthers (1996)
Seattle Seahawks (1997) | 1,141 |
| 16 | Bryan Barker | Kansas City Chiefs (1990–1993)
Philadelphia Eagles (1994)
Jacksonville Jaguars (1995–2000)
Washington Redskins (2001–2003)
Green Bay Packers (2004)
St. Louis Rams (2005) | 1,132 |
| 17 | Mark Royals | Philadelphia Eagles (1987)
St. Louis Cardinals (1987)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1990–1991, 1999–2001)
Pittsburgh Steelers (1992–1994)
Detroit Lions (1995–1996)
New Orleans Saints (1997–1998)
Miami Dolphins (2002–2003)
Jacksonville Jaguars (2003) | 1,116 |
| 18 | John James | Atlanta Falcons (1972–1981)
Detroit Lions (1982)
Houston Oilers (1982–1984) | 1,083 |
| 19 | Jerrel Wilson | Kansas City Chiefs (1963–1977)
New England Patriots (1978 | 1,072 |
| 20 | | New Orleans Saints (1984–1988)
New England Patriots (1990)
Cleveland Browns (1991–1993)
New York Jets (1994–1998)
Washington Redskins (1999) | 1,057 |
| 21 | Dan Stryzinski | Pittsburgh Steelers (1990–1991)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1992–1994)
Atlanta Falcons (1995–2000)
Kansas City Chiefs (2001–2002)
New York Jets (2003) | 1,055 |
| 22 | Ray Guy^ | Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders (1973–1986) | 1,049 |
| 23 | Rich Camarillo | New England Patriots (1981–1987)
Los Angeles Rams (1988)
Phoenix Cardinals (1989–1993)
Houston Oilers (1994–1995)
Oakland Raiders (1996) | 1,027 |
| 24 | Kevin Huber | Cincinnati Bengals (2009–2022) | 1,011 |
| 25 | Brett Kern | Denver Broncos (2008–2009)
Tennessee Titans (2009–2021)
Philadelphia Eagles (2022) | 1,006 |
| 26 | Mike Horan | Philadelphia Eagles (1984–1985)
Denver Broncos (1986–1992)
New York Giants (1993–1996)
St. Louis Rams (1997, 1999)
Chicago Bears (1998) | 1,003 |
Statistics accurate through the end of the 2022 NFL season
and gathered from Pro-Football-Reference.[10] | |
Most punts inside the 20-yard line
style="text-align:center; background:#cfecec;" | Denotes player who is still active | |
Career punting touchbacks leaders
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Minimum Requirements For Football Leaderboards. Pro-Football-Reference.com. August 29, 2022.
- Web site: Branch. John. Jeff Feagles Retires After 1,713 Punts. The New York Times. May 1, 2010. August 26, 2022.
- Web site: Giants' Feagles retires; NFL mark intact. ESPN. April 30, 2010. August 27, 2022.
- Web site: Giants' Feagles sets career punts record. New England Patriots. September 11, 2005. August 26, 2022.
- News: Maske. Mark. NFL owners approve 25-yard line touchback rule change, double unsportsmanlike conduct ejections. The Washington Post. March 23, 2016. August 29, 2022.
- Web site: Carter. Jayceon. NFL: To Touchback or Not to Touchback, That Is the Question. Bleacher Report. January 16, 2011. August 29, 2022.
- Web site: Shpigel. Ben. The N.F.L.'s Most Valuable Player Might Be ... a Punter?. The New York Times. November 2, 2017. August 29, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20171104023724/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/sports/football/johnny-hekker-rams-punter.html. November 4, 2017.
- Web site: Giants' Feagles retires; NFL mark intact. ESPN. April 30, 2010. August 27, 2022.
- Web site: NFL Career Leaders – Punting Touchbacks. The Football Database. August 29, 2022.
- Web site: NFL Punts Career Leaders (since 1939). Pro-Football-Reference.com. August 26, 2022.
- Web site: NFL Career Leaders – Punting Net Average. The Football Database. August 29, 2022.
- Web site: NFL Career Leaders – Punting Touchbacks. The Football Database. December 27, 2022.
