{"id":293849,"date":"2026-07-26T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=293849"},"modified":"2026-07-25T08:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T12:34:15","slug":"afc-west-special-teamers-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/07\/26\/afc-west-special-teamers-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking the Top AFC West Special Teamers For 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kickers and punters may not be the first thing that comes to many NFL fans’ minds when they think of the AFC West<\/a>, but each of these players also has the responsibility, just like everyone else on the roster, to perform at their best. Now it\u2019s time to rank the best special teamers in this division.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Best AFC West Special Teamers for 2026<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

5.\u00a0 Harrison Butker, Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> place kicker Harrison Butker<\/a> is number five on the list because he\u2019s entering his 10th season and, despite not always being the most consistent kicker, is a player that any roster would benefit from having. The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder was drafted by the Carolina Panthers<\/a> 233rd overall in the seventh round out of Georgia Tech in 2017. Butker was waived and added to the Panthers’ practice squad before signing with the Chiefs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since arriving in Kansas City, Butker has been named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team, was the NFL\u2019s scoring leader in 2019, is a three-time Super Bowl Champion, and has made 93.8% of his extra point attempts and 88.3% of his field goal attempts, while his longest made field goal is 62 yards. Butker hasn\u2019t played a full season in two years, but he will need to make more of his kicks as the Chiefs will need all of their players to help the team rather than hurt it if they want to finish 2026 with better results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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4.\u00a0 Cameron Dicker, Los Angeles Chargers\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Los Angeles Chargers<\/a> place kicker Cameron Dicker<\/a> is the fourth-best special teamer in the AFC West because, even though he doesn\u2019t have the longest range compared to other kickers, he has, for the most part, been able to deliver for his team when his name has been called. The 6-foot-1, 216-pounder who went undrafted out of Texas had stints with the Los Angeles Rams<\/a>, Baltimore Ravens<\/a>, and Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> before ending up with the Chargers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dicker was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2022, was a Pro Bowler in 2025, and has made 96.9% of his extra point attempts and 93.5% of his field goal attempts, while his longest made field goal is 59 yards. The success that Dicker has had at making field goals has continued to drop each season he\u2019s remained in the NFL, which is something he will need to work on especially since the Chargers might be locked in a lot of close games and could call upon him often to help them not only win as many games as possible but also keep the team’s hopes of making the postseason alive.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jan 11, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; Los Angeles Chargers place kicker Cameron Dicker (11) kicks a field goal during the second quarter against the New England Patriots in an AFC Wild Card Round game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3.\u00a0 J.K. Scott, Los Angeles Chargers<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The second Chargers player on this list is punter J.K. Scott<\/a>, who is number three on this list because he can punt the ball extremely far and has had a positive impact on the majority of teams he\u2019s had tenures with. The 6-foot-5, 208-pounder was drafted by the Green Bay Packers<\/a> 172nd overall in the fifth round out of Alabama in 2018 and also played with the Jacksonville Jaguars<\/a> for a short period before signing with the Chargers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In eight seasons, Scott has punted 21,707 yards, while his longest punt went 83 yards. There\u2019s only been one season where Scott didn\u2019t kick a punt at least 60 yards, which was in the one season he played in Jacksonville at the end of 2021, when he only played in one game. Scott is consistent and has appeared in every game with the Chargers and has the opportunity in 2026 to keep punting well, while his teammates on defense will certainly need his help as they will strive to have one of the better defenses around the league.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sep 21, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker (11) is congratulated by offensive tackle Joe Alt (76) and place holder J.K. Scott (16) after kicking the winning field goal as time ran out to defeat the Denver Broncos 23-20 at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2.\u00a0 AJ Cole, Las Vegas Raiders\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Las Vegas Raiders<\/a> punter AJ Cole<\/a> is the second-best special teamer in the division, not because of the team he is on but mainly because of the accolades he\u2019s been able to rack up in his career. He is similar to Scott but a little bit better. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder who went undrafted out of NC State in 2019 is a three-time Pro Bowler, has been named First-team All-Pro twice, and holds the record for most yards per punt in NFL history, as he has averaged 48.5 yards per punt in his career so far.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cole spent his rookie season in Oakland before the team relocated to Las Vegas, which hasn\u2019t had a negative impact at all on how he plays, as he is headed into his eighth season and has punted 21,572 yards, with his longest punt also going 83 yards. The shortest kick Cole has had across all seasons he\u2019s played was 63 yards. There was a decline in his punting average in 2025, but he can definitely be one of the team’s best players statistically if the Raiders do end up having another horrible season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jan 4, 2026; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders place kicker Daniel Carlson (8 kicks a 60-yard field goal out of the hold of punter AJ Cole (6) with eight seconds left against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. Jeremy Crawshaw, Denver Broncos\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Denver Broncos<\/a> punter Jeremy Crawshaw<\/a> is the youngest and least experienced player on this list, but he is still the best special teamer in the AFC West because of how well he did as a rookie in terms of filling the void at the position, which the Broncos definitely needed after Riley Dixon<\/a> decided to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>. The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder was drafted 216th overall in the sixth round out of Florida and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In one season, Crawshaw has played in every game and punted 3,573 yards, while his longest punt went 76 yards. Crawshaw didn\u2019t punt as many yards as Dixon did in his final season with the Broncos, but had a higher average. If at its best all of 2026, Denver certainly looks like a team that is a top candidate to not only make the Super Bowl but win it all. Crawshaw can help the Broncos reach this goal by continuing to successfully help set up a persistent defense, which Vance Joseph<\/a> runs.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kickers and punters may not be the first thing that comes to many NFL fans’ minds when they think of the AFC West, but these impact players are some of the best in the league. Now it\u2019s time to rank the best special teamers in this division.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5728,"featured_media":293862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,6431,33916],"tags":[35050,32242,3265,8752,35051],"class_list":["post-293849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-nfl-teams","category-power-rankings","tag-aj-cole","tag-cameron-dicker","tag-harrison-butker","tag-j-k-scott","tag-jeremy-crenshaw"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5728"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293849"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293858,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293849\/revisions\/293858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}