Punters
Hi Friends!
Hope you’re doing well. Today I’m going to share a bit about arguably the most underrated American football position out there, the PUNTER. For those unfamiliar, a punter is a player on special teams, not offense, not defense. Great punters can change the game by controlling the field-position battle. They have to kick the football with power, precision, and pin-point direction. Say it’s 4th and 10 at midfield. It’s too long for a field goal (unless you’re Cam Little on the Jags or Brandon Aubrey on the Cowboys who are totally changing the kicking game, shoutout) and your goal is to pin the opp deep in their own territory. A great punter will punt the ball to go just out of bounds inside the twenty, maybe inside the ten, maybe even inside the five yard-line, to make it impossible for the punt returner to even get it and hard for the opposing offense to make progress starting so deep in their own territory. Today we’re going to share some data and history and hopefully help highlight these incredible facilitators on the football field, punters.
Metrics
NFL punting metrics measure how well a punter changes field position, but the key is context. A long punt isn’t automatically a good punt, and a short punt isn’t automatically bad. Where the kick starts, where it lands, and what the coverage team does all matter.
Gross yards per punt
Gross yards per punt measures the average punt distance before subtracting returns or touchback yardage. This metric is especially useful because it’s a simple indication of distance production. A reason it is not that great is because it rewards room to kick; someone punting from deep in their own territory has more opportunity for a long punt than someone kicking near midfield. Bounces can also inflate distance. The current leader in this stat is Matt Araiza of the Chiefs, averaging 52.4 yards per punt. Others who excel at this stat include Jordan Stout of the Giants, Corey Bojorquez of the Browns, A.J. Cole of the Raiders and Daniel Whelan of the Packers.
Net yards per punt
Net yards per punt measures average field position gain after accounting for returns and touchbacks. It’s useful because it’s closer to the actual result than gross average; a booming kick loses value if it allows a big return. The issue is that it measures the whole punting unit, not just the punter. Missed tackles can ruin a great kick while good coverage can rescue a poor one. In 2024, Jack Fox of the Lions set the all-time single season record with 46.2 net yards. Other punters who have had top-tier net averages recently include Tommy Townsend of the Titans, Jake Bailey of the Falcons, Johnny Hekker of the Vikings, A.J. Cole of the Raiders and Bryan Anger of the Cowboys. An embedded metric here is hang time, which we’ll discuss soon. Long hangtime gives gunners time to get down field and prevent returns.
Inside-the-20 percentage
The inside-the-20 percentage measures the share of punts that leave the opponent starting inside their own 20 yard-line, significantly reducing the odds that they score. It’s good because it shows how often a unit pins opponents deep; using a percentage is more informative than just counting points. The issue is that starting field position strongly affects the opportunity. It also groups a punt downed at the 19 with one downed at the 1 which are two completely different things. Leaders include Jeremy Crawshaw of the Broncos, Daniel Whelan of the Packers, Cameron Johnston of the Steelers and Braden Mann of the Eagles.
Touchback percentage
Touchback percentage measures share of punts resulting in touchbacks. It helps identify kicks that waste opportunities to pin opponents deep but needs context: avoiding a touchback is a much bigger consideration near midfield than when kicking from deep in your own territory. The punters with low touchbacks include Kai Kroeger of the Texans, Bryan Anger of the Cowboys, Rigoberto Sanchez of the Colts, Ryan Wright of the Saints and Ryan Rehkow of the Bengals.
Hang time
Hang time is how long the ball stays in the air. It gives coverage players time to reach the returner and limit returns. The thing is, more isn’t always better by itself: it must also be balanced with distance and placement; a high, short punt can still be ineffective. Leaders in recent years have included Ryan Stonehouse of the Titans, Michael Dickson of the Seahawks, A.J. Cole of the Raiders, Jack Fox of the Lions and Logan Cooke of the Jaguars.
Directional placement
Directional placement is where the ball lands across the width of the field, including proximity to a sideline. It can restrict the returner’s options and help coverage. The reason it misleads is it requires tracking or film, and knowing the intended target matters. An out-of-bounds punt could come from precise execution or a shank. Punters with the best placement include Michael Dickson of the Seahawks, Ryan Wright of the Saints, Ryan Eckley of the Ravens, Daniel Whelan of the Packers and Sam Martin of the Panthers.
Context-adjusted point value
Context-adjusted point value measures how much better or worse the punt was than an expected result from that field position, sometimes expressed in expected points. It makes comparisons fairer and translates field position into football value, but depends on the model; whether it includes returns, penalties, fumbles, or adjustments changes what and whom it evaluates. pEPA is a great metric to assess this.
Punting Expected Points Added (pEPA)
There’s this cool site called Puntalytics that uses a metric called punting expected points added or pEPA. Without going into too many deets, it’s a metric of how a punter improves the probability of restricting the opponent from scoring and implicitly bettering the chance their team wins, a very nice way to think about context-adjusted point value. If a punter gets a pEPA of over 0.10 over a season, that’s really good. Four punters hit that mark in 2025, Daniel Whelan of the Packers, Michael Dickson of the Seahawks, Matt Haack of the Cardinals, and Ryan Wright of the Saints.
Did you know only one pure punter has made the NFL Hall of Fame? That would be Ray Guy, who played for the Raiders from 1973-1986. He was drafted 23rd overall, the first punter ever to go in the first round of the NFL draft, and totally reinvented the position. He mastered hang-time, giving his gunners (super fast players on special teams, often wide receivers to sprint down the field and put pressure on the returners) a ton of time to get down the field, pressure the returner, or even get down field in time to catch the ball off a bounce or two to pin the opponents deep. The Hall of Fame has blinders when it comes to special teams players, especially punters. Let’s try to help change that. Right now, the punter who has the best chance to make it is Shane Lechler. This guy was pure power. He retired in 2019 after 18 NFL seasons with the Raiders and Texans and had a 47.6 gross yard per punt average, an NFL record! In 2019, he averaged over 51.1 yards per punt, bananas! He was also a 7 time pro bowler and 9 time all pro. Come on Hall of Fame, show the guy some love. Now let’s talk stats.
As for current punters, Michael Dickson, from Australia, is changing the game right now! Michael has said that his ultimate personal goal is to make the NFL Hall of Fame. He has a long way to go but is definitely making progress! He has a NFL playoff record of 49.1 yards per punt average and is up there all time in the regular season. So far he has made one pro bowl and earned two all pros but he’s only 30 and could be playing another decade! Think of him as a mix of Ray Guy’s precision with Shane Lechler’s power with some unique techniques. He is known as the trick-shot-punter and his punting has made tons of reels and Sportscenter top plays. He can consistently generate hangtime over 5.5 seconds giving his gunners tons of time to get downfield, and his peak distance is 70 yards! He also had a whopping 0.17 pEPA in 2025! Through his incredible unconventional punting (look up banana punt, crazy side-spin wizardry) on the field, he’s also helping grow the exposure for the punting position!
Next time you’re watching an NFL game, watch the punters. These guys are brilliant! They are the tactical superstars of the football field who will change the game in your favor by winning the field position battle, making it near impossible for the opponents to score and by extension helping your team win. They may not be scoring points or directly stopping the opponent from scoring, but they’re the non-flashy facilitators behind the scenes who are changing the game.
That’s all for today! See y’all next time! Sarang out.
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