History Kickoff: Ranking NFL's Top 20 First-Year Punters

Tennessee rookie Ryan Stonehouse last season smashed the NFL's single-season record for punting when he averaged 53.1 yards per kick, breaking the previous mark of 51.4 set by Sammy Baugh in 1940..

Or 82 years earlier.

It was an impressive achievement, and certainly the best season ever for a first-year punter ... right?

Not so fast.

Records must be taken in context, as there are more important factors than gross punting average, including .. but not limited to ... net yards per punt. Fortunately, recent data prior to 1976 (when the NFL officially began tracking net punting as an individual statistic) is available on NFL.com or in annual NFL record books. 

That information puts punting records and statistics into a context allowing comparisons to other seasons by first-year punters (rookies, those on practice squads or anyone who bounced around until they caught on) since 1950.

Like passing and place kicking, punting has become more sophisticated over time. An ordinary season by a passer, punter or kicker today might have been a record-breaker two or three generations ago, so comparing individuals of past eras must be considered only against players during that time.

But comparing net averages has become easier since 1999 when the NFL began calculating a metric called Net Yards over Average (NYOA). Simplified, it compares punters by using their net averages vs. league averages and taking into account variables associated with field position that affect statistics.

So, who are the punters who stood out in their first years of NFL play? Here are my Top 20:

20. Dale Livingston, Bengals, 1968—He had a net punting average of 39.3 in his rookie season and a gross punting average of 43.4. Since net punting didn't become official until 1976, his 1968 average is considered unofficial. But with available records, it would've been tied for second-best in pro football, not just the AFL. Only the Chiefs' Jerrel Wilson had a higher net.

Livingston's value was realized in 1968 when he missed the final two games of the season, and his two replacements averaged 28.6 yards a punt combined (gross, not net).

19. Tom Wittum, 49ers, 1973—Like Rick Donnelly, Wittum's first year was overshadowed by an all-time great rookie - Oakland's Ray Guy. Wittum was All-NFC and a Pro Bowler, but Guy had the better year -- even though NFL.com stats show a 36.6 net average.

18. Rick Donnelly, Falcons, 1985—Overshadowed by Dale Hatcher in his rookie year, Donnelly was just a half-yard behind Hatcher in net-yard average at 37.5 and had a slightly better gross average. In most other seasons, he'd have been the one getting post-season honors.

17. Tom Skladany, Lions, 1978 -- He was chosen by the Browns in the second round of the 1977 NFL draft but didn't sign and held out. That would've made him eligible for the 1978 draft if Cleveland didn't trade him to the Rams for a third-round pick and conditional third-rounder.

But Skladany wouldn't sign with the Rams, either. So they unloaded him to the Lions for third-and-seventh-round draft choices, and the Lions offered him a contract he could live with. He would later sport a T-shirt with the team names "Browns" and "Rams" crossed out, but with "Lions" left intact.

Not only was he an All-Rookie selection; he was a consensus All-NFC pick. His net punting average was not eye-popping, but it was second in the NFL and three yards above the league average.

16. Reggie Roby, Dolphins, 1983—A consensus All-Rookie pick, Roby's 36.5-yard net tied for third in NFL, and his 26 punts inside the 20 were third.

He was the king of hang time -- going for height, not necessarily depth -- though it was just the opposite when he was at the University of Iowa. There, he was known for distance, not height.

In the NFL, however, he averaged 4.7 seconds per punt in his first season -- with one writer saying that "Roby's punts don't have hang time; they have orbit time."

15. Rigoberto Sanchez, Colts, 2017—Another All-Rookie choice, he was fourth in net punting with a 42.6 net average, fourth best among first-year punters. His NYOA was 1.88, good for sixth in the NFL. 

He had 28 punts inside the 20, compared to just three touchbacks (a 9.3: 1 ratio). The 23-year-old rookie who played at Hawaii also handled the Colts' kickoff duties.

14. Darren Bennett, Chargers, 1995—According to the Associated Press (AP), Bennett was the first NFL player to have a webpage on the "Internet's World Wide Web". The AP also reported that anyone with Internet access could read about Bennett's weekly journal but also "converse electronically with the 30-year-old rookie."

A former Australian rules football player, the 6-5, 240-pound Aussie earned tickets to the U.S. by winning a kicking exhibition. He tried out for the Chargers because he thought it would "be cool" to meet a couple of NFL players and did well enough to spend a year on the team's practice squad and one season in the World League (later called NFL Europe).

He made the Chargers' roster in 1995..

In his first NFL season, Bennett won almost every available honor: Consensus All-Pro, All-AFC, Pro Bowl. The problem was that he wasn't the NFL's best punter that year .. or even the top first-year punter. However, some writers and players who voted for postseason honors didn't look at net averages. If they had, they would have found others ahead of Bennett.

Nevertheles, it was a great start. 

13. Matt Turk, Washington, 1995—After playing semi-pro football and failing to catch on with the Packers ('93) and Rams( '94), the 6-5, 251-pound Turk won a job in Washington. Moreover, he so impressed Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News (the most astute NFL writer when it came to special teams) that he picked him over Bennett for the paper's All-Pro team.

The first-year punter's net average was over a yard better than Bennett's (2.5 yards above the league average vs. Bennett's 1.4), and he had one more punt inside the 20. Simply put, Turk had a slightly better season.

12. Michael Dickson, Seahawks, 2018—He was one of the first punters to go through the Prokick Australia punter training program and play in the NFL.

Dickson's 42.5 net average was sixth in the NFL, and his NYOA of 1.46 was seventh. But it was his 48.2 gross average (second in the league) and Week Eight choice as NFC Special Teams Player of the Week that made him a consensus All-Pro and All-Rookie pick.

The 42.5 net average is currently fifth-best among first-year punters and third-best ever for pure rookies. But, like the Turk-Bennett situation in 1995, Dickson was not the top first-year punter in 2018. He wasn't even the top Australian.

The next guy on our list was.

11. Cameron Johnston, Eagles, 2018—Another Aussie and, like Dickson, a Prokick Australia graduate.

Waived by the Eagles in 2017, Johnston spent a year honing his craft. One year later at the Eagles’ rookie camp (he was re-signed in the offseason), he said that he "had a year to work on (his) game and to try to get better as a punter."

The work paid off.

The former Australian rules footballer had a 48.1-yard gross and a 42.7 net punting average (third-best among first-year punters). Furthermore, he was third in the league in gross punting, net punting and NYOA (2.01).

Though close, Johnston's numbers were better than Dickson's. But it was Dickson who had more votes for All-Pro.

10. Dave Lewis, Bengals, 1970—Lewis didn't want to be a punter. He called it his "curse". He thought it detracted from coaches recognizing his abilities as a quarterback. 

Chosen by the Giants in the fifth round of the 1967 AFL-NFL draft, the Stanford graduate chose to play for the CFL Montreal Alouettes because he thought they'd give him a chance at quarterback. However, he played sparingly there and was used mostly as a receiver, back and returner.

Returning to the NFL in 1969, he tried to get the Giants to surrender their rights for him. When they wouldn't, he reported to camp and was cut.

One year later, he signed with the Bengals where he hoped to play quarterback. But he was a third-stringer at that position and a first-string punter. So his curse secured a roster spot.

He led the NFL with a 46.2-yard average and had a 39.0-yard net, which was among the league's best, and was the consensus All-Pro punter, making the AP and PFWA teams.

9. Shane Lechler, Raiders, 2000—In 18 pro seasons Lechler led the NFL in net punting four times, including his rookie season, and in gross average five. His NYOA was 2.70, good for second in the NFL, as was his 45.9 gross average.

Lechler was the second Raiders' rookie punter to be consensus All-Pro and All-Rookie. You'll meet the other a bit later.

8. Tommy Davis, 49ers, 1959—He was taken in the 11th round of the 1957 draft while in the military but didn't play until 1959 after opting to play one more season at LSU when his military commitment expired.

In that era, the NFL Record and Rules Manuals did include team net punting, and, with most teams having just one person doing the punting, net averages could be calculated without much trouble.

Davis's 40.81 net tied for second behind Sam Baker's 42.8, joining the Lions' Yale Lary (40.84) and Jerry Norton of the Cardinals (40.83) in a three-way tie.

Davis was also the 49ers' placekicker.

7. Bob Grupp, Chiefs, 1979—After failing to make the Jets in 1977, Grupp was pulled him out of a real-estate office in 1979 and won the punting job in Kansas City.

All he did was lead the NFL in net punting (3.7.-3.9 yards above the NFL average), earn consensus All-Pro (first-team PFWA and NEA, second-team AP), consensus All-AFC, and the AFC Pro Bowl punting slot. He also led the NFL in gross punting and was a consensus All-Rookie pick.

In short, he unseated Ray Guy as the NFL's top punter that season. Guy had been the consensus All-Pro punter every year since he entered the league in 1973.

6. Dale Hatcher, Rams, 1985—The Clemson third-round pick led the NFL in net punting and in punts dropped inside the 20 with 32. 

When Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman chose him for the Sports Illustrated All-Pro team he wrote, "Hatcher's single most impressive talent is being able to boom one and then have it bounce straight up, whereupon it's downed in the shadow of the end zone."

His coach, John Robinson, said he liked the distance but noted that Hatcher "gets the ball up and gets it up consistently." The hang-time is what Robinson wanted, and it's what Hatcher provided.

In addition to the Dr. Z selection, Hatcher was a consensus All-Pro and All-Rookie pick.

5. Ryan Stonehouse, Titans, 2022—The relatively smallish (5-10, 185 pounds) former Colorado State Ram with an already legendary leg has a bright future. Once he learns to control it a little more, he could be the best in the NFL.

His 44.0 net average is second-best among first-year punters, is tops among pure rookies and is officially tied for 17th best all-time (since 1976). His NYOA was sixth in the NFL (2.54).

Voted first-team All-NFL by The Sporting News and second-team by the AP, Stonehouse was the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in Week 10 and the October AFC Special Teams Player of the Month. He was also on everyone's All-Rookie team.

Titans' fans may object to a fifth-place finish for someone who broke such a long-lasting record, but it's as simple as this: Net is more important than gross when it comes to punting averages.

4. Jack Fox, Lions, 2020—An undrafted free agent in 2019, he spent a year on the Lions' practice squad where he told the Detroit News that he "improved his technique and the use of his hands."

It worked.

His 44.8 net yards-per-punt average is the NFL record among first-year punters. It was also second in the NFL, as was his 4.13 NYOA. He allowed just 116 return yards and had a 26-7 inside-the-20-to-touchback ratio.

He was second-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in his first season on an active NFL roster and opened the season as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September.

He also kicked off for the Lions.

3. Ray Guy, Raiders, 1973—A first-round draft choice, Guy was a consensus All-Pro (the AP didn't pick a punter that year) and unanimous All-Rookie. He came into the NFL as the best punter in the league - his hang time was legendary -- and he was aggressive in trying to pin teams not just inside the 20 but inside the 10 ... or 5.

Guy's 38.8 net average was lower than other first-year players on this list, but it was the second-best in the NFL.

This is a case where numbers have to be taken in context. League averages in net punting dropped from about 36-38 in the late 1950s through the mid-1960s and then began to drop more in the late 1960s. By 1973 the league average was just over 35 yards, so his net was about 3-1/2 yards better than the NFL average.

Guy handled the kickoff duties for the Raiders and was involved in more than a few tackles. It was an excellent rookie year, one of the best ever.

2. Bobby Walden, Vikings, 1964—After three years in Canada, Walden joined the NFL and, in his first year, had a league-leading gross average of 46.4 and 41.6 net, or 4.3 yards above the NFL average that year. 

He also had 26 punts inside the 20 and just five touchbacks.

Had it been official, the 41.6-yard net average would have led the league every year from 1964 through 2008, with the exception of 1966 and 1972.

The former Georgia Bulldog was voted All-Rookie by UPI.

1. David Lee, Colts, 1966—Lee didn't make a pro team immediately out of Louisiana Tech, but when he caught on with the Colts in 1966 he was marvelous. 

His net average was 41.7 yards a punt (45.6 gross), about five yards per kick above the league average. Though not as precise as NYOA, the difference between his average and the league's net is the best ever among first-year punters.

For comparison, Fox's average was about four yards above the NFL average and Stonehouse's was two-and-a-half yards better.

Like Walden, the big man's (6-4, 230 pounds) 41.7 net average would've led the NFL every year through 2008, with 1972 the exception.

Though wire services (AP, UPI, NEA) didn't choose specialists on their All-Pro teams in 1966, Lee was All-Conference that year by The Sporting News.

_{Note: Sources for net punting averages and other punting statistics are NFL.com, NFLGSIS, NFL Record Manuals and also calculated from NFL gamebooks.}