NFL free agency 2026 player rankings: Best punters, kickers, and long snappers available

The Super Bowl is behind us and we’re creeping up on the new league year, which means the start of NFL free agency for the 2026 season is close at hand. Teams are hard at work building out their plans for their own players, while keeping a close eye on the available free agents heading into the 2026 offseason. Today we’re going to take a look at the projected free agent specialists in the 2026 class, as I give my best guess at how these players are likely to be ranked by NFL teams.

Last season was a wild one for special teams, and mostly not in a good way. Several teams may be in the market for specialists, and there are some solid contributors available this offseason. Let’s dive in.

1. K Brandon Aubrey, Dallas Cowboys

2025 stats: 36-of-42 on field goals (81%), long of 60 yards, 21-of-22 on XPs

Aubrey tops our list after another spectacular season for the Cowboys. He was perfect on field goals from 49 yards or closer with all six of his misses coming from beyond 50. His long of 64 on the year was also just one yard short of tying his career long of 65 he had in 2024.

Aubrey has been kicking at the NFL level for three seasons and he’s been named to the Pro Bowl all three years and has a First-Team and two Second-Team All-Pro honors during that span.

He’s far and away our best available specialist this offseason.

2.) P Ryan Wright, Minnesota Vikings

2025 stats: 49.0 average, 44.5 net average, long of 77 yards, 38.5 inside-the-20 percentage

Wright has been a very steady performer for the Vikings through four seasons and he’s currently coming off his age-25 season where he recorded a career-high 44.5 net yards per punt average with a career-long 77-yard boot.

It’s not often great special teams players hit the market and I would be surprised to see the Vikings decline re-signing him to a new contract, but for now, he’s our top punter on this list.

3.) P Matt Araiza, Kansas City Chiefs

2025 stats: 47.6 average, 41.3 net average, long of 69 yards, 44.6 inside-the-20 percentage

Araiza, like Wright, is still only 25 years old and he’s on the up-and-up as an NFL punter. He hasn’t had to do a whole lot of it 0ver the past two seasons due to playing for the Chiefs but he’s been solid when called upon. His 44.6 inside-the-20 percentage is very strong and makes him a legitimate weapon in the third phase of the game.

4.) P Mitch Wishnowsky, Buffalo Bills

2025 stats: 45.3 average, 41.8 net average, long of 62 yards, 47.4 inside-the-20 percentage

While Wishnowsky’s gross average isn’t as good as the younger players above him on this list, his 47.4 inside-the-20 percentage is the best amongst the trio. He’ll be 34 during the 2026 season but that number doesn’t mean much when it comes to specialists that can still perform at a high level. If the Bills do not want to bring Wishnowsky back, he’ll certainly not be at a lack of suitors on the market this offseason.

5.) K Nick Folk, New York Jets

2025 stats: 28-of-29 on field goals, long of 58 yards, 22-of-22 on XPs

Even at his advanced age (40), Folk is still getting the job done for his team. He was perfect on extra points and his only miss came from beyond 50 yards. During a very down year for the Jets, Folk was one of the lone bright spots. One would think the Jets should keep Folk in order to keep the floor of their kicking game fairly high, but all bets are usually off when it comes to this team and their decision-making process.

6.) K Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders

2025 stats: 22-of-27 on field goals, long of 60 yards, 21-of-22 on XPs

A bad Raiders offense made for a lot of long field goal attempts for Carlson who attempted eight over 50 yards, converting on five of them. The 2025 campaign was unfortunately his worst season since 2019 as he converted on just 81 percent of his kicks. After converting on 94.3 percent of his kicks in 2020, Carlson has seen his conversion rate drop each year. If there’s a bright spot, however, it’s that he still has plenty of leg as he recorded a career-high 60-yarder this past season.

7.) K Jake Bates, Detroit Lions

2025 stats: 27-of-34 on field goals, long of 64 yards, 54-of-56 on XPs

After a stellar first season with the Lions in 2024 (89.7 percent), Bates saw some regression in 2025 as he connected on just 79 percent of his attempts. He struggled the most from 50+ yards, hitting on just four of his nine attempts. That’s down from going six-of-eight in 2024.

If you can take the minor inconsistencies with Bates and capitalize on the fact he’s still just 26 years old, a team may be able to find a bit of a diamond in the rough here if the Lions decide that need to find someone else immediately over working through his rough spots.

8.) LS Josh Harris, Los Angeles Chargers

2025 stats: N/A

A former All-Pro at a position you hear almost nothing about, Harris is one of the best over the last 15 seasons. If his 2025 injury isn’t enough to keep him from accomplishing his one job, he’ll be snatched up by somebody. That is, if the Chargers really want to pass up re-signing the veteran.

9.) LS Andrew DePaolo, Minnesota Vikings

2025 stats: N/A

Similar to Harris above, DePaolo is one of the best in the league at what he does. The Vikings would not be smart to let him walk. He checks an important box on special teams and no franchise wants to be caught having to worry about their long snapper in a season that could be filled with so many larger problems.

10.) K Eddy Pinero, San Francisco 49ers

2025 stats: 28-of-29 on field goals, long of 59 yards, 24-of-38 on XPs

Pinero just posted a career-high 96.6 conversion percentage on his field goals in 2025 (minimum 10 attempts), a number he hadn’t hit in his career other than going eight-for-eight during the 2021 campaign. His lone miss came from 50+ yards and he also hit a career-high 59-yard kick, as well.

While the efficiency is great here, he’s only a year removed from converting 84.6 percent of his kicks combined with having one of the weaker legs on the market. There may be a team who wants to bank on his resurgence this past season, but that idea won’t be for everybody.