Summary
Punters play a crucial if, at times, underappreciated role in the NFL.
The best punters have an array of styles, but all have great power in their kicks.
Ray Guy, Shane Lechler and Jeff Feagles all feature, but in what order?
If an NFL team is on fourth down and not making yards, more often than not, they're turning to their punter to get them up the field. Making such a kick requires skill, not to mention the ability to perform under pressure. Screw up and the ball gets turned over without having put any points on the board. A good punter can hit a ball high and over long distances.
Like any area of sport, there is an element of luck involved. Depending on how the ball lands determines whether it scuttles out of play or lands flat and remains on the field. Hang time is an important factor. By getting kicks high in the air, teammates can get forward and be ready to attack it should it remain in play.
It's a lesser-discussed art of the game, and a skill that has seen many fine practitioners over the years. Competition is stiff, though. Patrick McAfee played in the Super Bowl for the Indianapolis Colts and was a fine punter. Yet he misses out. Here are the 10 best punters in NFL history.
Ranking factors
Power - the strength and height at which a player can strike a ball.
Length - distance is vital too, if players want to get their teams out of trouble.
Magic moments - memorable kicks in big games.
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10 Best Players in NFL History [Ranked]
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10 Johnny Hekker
2012 to present
Johnny Hekker
Johnny Hekker kicked the longest punt in Super Bowl history when playing for the Los Angeles Rams. His kick was measured at 65 yards. That was during a loss to the New England Patriots. Hekker does have a Super Bowl to his name, though. He was part of the Rams team that beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in 2022.
Not only does Hekker have distance and height in his kicks, but he has pinpoint accuracy, too. He is not your average punter either. He has also been known for faking to punt before throwing successful passes. A dangerous player all around.
|Johnny Hekker stats|
|Matches|212|
|Number of punts|963|
|Average punt length (yards)|46.8|
|Longest punt (yards)|78|
|Total punt yardage|45,042|
|---|
9 Thomas Morstead
2009 to present
Thomas Morstead
With his long hair and beard, Thomas Morstead was a familiar sight. He was part of the New Orleans side that won the Super Bowl in 2010. Many would say he is the Saints' best punter. He may not have been considered one of the best punters in 2024, but he was still able to show his great kicking when he hit a 75-yard punt for the New York Jets.
He never seems to be straining when kicking. It’s just a great technique, which always sees him strike the ball cleanly. He will probably be best remembered for delivering what has been known as the ambush kick in the Super Bowl. He made an onside kick that worked. It drew even President Obama to say that the kick took guts.
|Thomas Morstead stats|
|Matches|255|
|Number of punts|960|
|Average punt length (yards)|46.8|
|Longest punt (yards)|75|
|Total punt yardage|44,944|
|---|
8 Reggie Roby
1983 to 1998
Reggie Roby
Reggie Roby had incredible flexibility. When sending a booming kick down the field, his kicking leg was pointed to the sky. His longest punt was 77 yards. Unfortunately for Roby, he didn’t have his best game in Super Bowl XIX. In that game, the Roby’s Miami Dolphins lost to the San Francisco 49ers.
Although he still made the Pro Bowl team that year, and is widely considered one of the greatest ever punters. Something of a maverick, he was one of the first punters to take the two-step approach. Such was the power of his kicking, it didn’t matter how many steps Roby took.
|Reggie Roby stats|
|Matches|238|
|Number of punts|992|
|Average punt length (yards)|43.8|
|Longest punt (yards)|77|
|Total punt yardage|42,951|
|---|
7 Andy Lee
2004 to 2022
Andy Lee
Andy Lee was a talented and consistent NFL punter. He led the league in punt yards on three occasions and also made the Pro Bowl three times between 2007 and 2012. Currently, he is third in the NFL’s all-time punting yards list. In total, he punted for 68,405 yards.
One of his most memorable punts was for the 49ers with an 82-yard effort against the New England Patriots. In 2005, 2007 and 2018, he kicked for more than 4,000 yards, with 2007 only 32 yards short of 5,000 yards. Lee had longevity, too. He was still playing for the Arizona Cardinals, aged 40.
|Andy Lee stats|
|Matches|297|
|Number of punts|1,466|
|Average punt length (yards)|46.7|
|Longest punt (yards)|82|
|Total punt yardage|68,405|
|---|
6 Sean Landeta
1983 to 2006
Sean Landeta
Sean Landeta was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants. He was still playing NFL in his forties. Fourth on the all-time career punting list with over 60,000 yards, Lanedta. He made the Pro Bowl on three occasions between 1986 and 1990.
Landeta certainly had resilience. He came to the NFL with the Giants from the USFL, where he played for the Stars. Then, early in his career, he committed to what some have described as the worst punt in history, when he missed the ball yards from the end zone. It led to a Chicago Bears touchdown. Yet Landeta went on to become one of the best.
|Sean Landeta stats|
|Matches|284|
|Number of punts|1,401|
|Average punt length (yards)|43.3|
|Longest punt (yards)|74|
|Total punt yardage|60,707|
|---|
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5 Jeff Feagles
1988 to 2009
Jeff Feagles
Jeff Feagles is currently the all-time number one in career punting yards with a total of 71,211. He is in the top 10 of players with the most NFL games played in a career. This was achieved over a 21-year career. He was part of the New York Giants side that beat Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots in 2008. This was Feagles’ first Super Bowl after 20 years of playing in the NFL.
Although maybe not one to lay down monster-sized kicks, Feagles knew where to place his punts to put the opposition under pressure. One of his punts was known as the coffin corner. Feagles explains more: "When the ball hits around the four-yard line, then bounces and rolls out-of-bounds at the one. I don't think there's a more exciting play in the punting game."
|Jeff Feagles stats|
|Matches|352|
|Number of punts|1,713|
|Average punt length (yards)|41.6|
|Longest punt (yards)|77|
|Total punt yardage|71,211|
|---|
4 Yale Lary
1952 to 1964
Yale Lary
Yale Lary was a three-time NFL champion in the 1950s with the Detroit Lions. Durable, Lary played in every game in eight of his eleven seasons. He might have played a lot more, but missed the 1954 and 1955 seasons due to national service as a second lieutenant in the Korean War.
Lary once spoke of his confusion about why more players cannot punt well: “I have always considered it remarkable that with so many boys in the country playing football, so few know how to kick a ball for distance and accuracy.” Lary is a Detroit Lions and NFL all-time great.
|Yale Lary stats|
|Matches|133|
|Number of punts|503|
|Average punt length (yards)|44.3|
|Longest punt (yards)|71|
|Total punt yardage|22,279|
|---|
3 Jerrel Wilson
1963 to 1978
Jerrell Wilson
Jerrel Wilson was a Super Bowl champion in 1970, when the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7. Nicknamed Thunderfoot, Wilson played in three consecutive Pro Bowls between 1970 and 1972. He was also named in the NFL team of the decade for the 1970s.
There was no messing when it came to Wilson's style, as he explained: "The way I attack the football, every time I hit it, I try to bust it, unless I’m around the 50. Then I hit it high. My power comes from everything. I try to snap everything I have in my body—my hips, knees, everything.”
|Jerrel Wilson stats|
|Matches|217|
|Number of punts|1,072|
|Average punt length (yards)|43|
|Longest punt (yards)|72|
|Total punt yardage|46,139|
|---|
2 Shane Lechler
2000 to 2017
Shane Lechler
Shane Lechler made the Pro Bowl an impressive seven times between 2000 and 2011. This was during his period with the Oakland Raiders. His 73-yard punt in 2003 was the longest that season. Although he never played in a Super Bowl, he was well-regarded within the sport. This showed when he was voted as part of the NFL's 2000s and 2010s team of the decade. He is only one of five players, including Tom Brady, who were also named in the 2000s team.
In 2018, the Raiders made him the highest-paid punter in the NFL. The four-year contract was reported to be worth around $12m. An athletic player, he was always willing to chase down his punts and tackle opponents. A consistent and capable punter who deserved a shot at the Super Bowl.
|Shane Lechler stats|
|Matches|286|
|Number of punts|1,444|
|Average punt length (yards)|47.6|
|Longest punt (yards)|77|
|Total punt yardage|68,678|
|---|
1 Ray Guy
1973 to 1986
Ray Guy
Unusually for a punter, Ray Guy was a first round pick in the 1973 NFL draft. It makes him one of the highest-drafted punters in NFL history. His entire career was spent at the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, where he won the Super Bowl three times. He certainly had power. In 1972, while still playing college football, he made a 93-yard punt.
That sort of distance pretty much invented the phrase hang time. On Guy was going to the Raiders, the head coach, John Madden, sensed he could become the best punter in the league. He quickly changed his mind, saying: “I think Ray proved he's the best of all time.”
|Ray Guy stats|
|Matches|207|
|Number of punts|1,049|
|Average punt length (yards)|42.4|
|Longest punt (yards)|74|
|Total punt yardage|44,493|
|---|
Statistics courtesy of the Football Database. Stats correct as of 20/06/25.
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