Araiza set a number of ALL-TIME records in this past season, and the lefty has shown that punters can be tough as nails to boot. In the NFL, only two players can release, so additional time to get downfield is significant. But since 2000, nobody has gone higher than Bryan Anger, who was picked 70th by the Jaguars in 2012. He has incredible poise and does not lose his cool and, for much of the 2021 season, led special teams in tackles. Nonetheless, the "Punt God" is headed to the AFC East champions. He was named to several First and Second All-American Teams by various national media outlets. SOMEONE GET ME A TABLE!! He was the striker for his high school soccer team, banging home game-winning goals in playoff games. The Buffalo Bills tweeted out the announcement with a picture of Araiza wearing his red and black Aztecs jersey with now-familiar No. Yes, thats right Araiza truly flipped the field for the Aztecs, changing the line-of-scrimmage from their own 11-yard-line to the 3-yard-line of the Spartans. #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/ifbf6FjLa0, Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 30, 2022. Nora and Steven break down the most intriguing, silly, and enlightening comments coming out of Indianapolis, Plus, theres talk of the rise of Greef Karga, along with what could become of Bo-Katan and the Mandalorian people, The guys close the show with highlights from NXT and a preview of tonights AEW go-home Dynamite, "The Apostate" is designed to reorient the audience after a lengthy layoff, but the familiar formula ensures we want to keep taking the trip, Meg and Spanners also discuss Aston Martins positive press focusing on Fernando Alonso and touch on Ferraris consistent performance. SIGN UP NOW: $1,000 risk-free on FanDuel Sportsbook! Araiza in 2021 booted 79 punts for 4,044 yards for an NCAA-record 51.18 yards per punt. How Far Can This Version of James Harden Take the Sixers? Araiza is the closest thing in football history to a must-watch punter. You won't want to miss a moment of the 2022 season! Araizas ascension to the summit of his position and the attention that has come with it has been one of the storylines of the college football season. Though the Bills are hardly known for punting, on the rare occasions they do, Araiza will be expected to tip the field and also be a weapon on kickoffs (he had 62 touchbacks in 73 kickoffs). Araiza was widely viewed as the top punting prospect after a 2021 college season that ended with him winning the Ray Guy award. San Diego State punter Matt Araiza speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday, March 5, 2022, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Ray Guy, for whom a college football award is named, was a first-round pick in 1973. Is Brad Holmes' enthusiastic drafting paying dividends for the Lions? r collecting 20.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks this past season. Angers cumulative yard per punt average in four years at California was 43.5, including a high of 45.6 in his junior season. The Punt God is averaging far more yards per punt than Anger did his senior year. Araiza was chosen with the first pick in the sixth round, the 180th pick overall. In 2015, he broke the San Diego sectional record for field goals in a single season, Rancho Bernardo won a state championship, and he was named to the MaxPreps sophomore All-American team. NFL Draft Profile: Rhys Byrns, Punter, Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns. Araizas potential as a kicker and punter was immediately obvious at Rancho Bernardo. In his Mock Draft 1.0 released on November 30, 2021, Brugler slotted Thomas to the Dallas Cowboys with the 25th pick of the first round, adding, Thomas has been nearly unblockable this season for the Aztecs, currently leading college football with 72 pressures.. Im excited for change. With the new changes to the touchback rules, pretty much every kickoff is a touchback. It isnt much of a challenge anymore. Did the talent-poor Falcons get the roster infusion they needed? Araiza also played cornerback for a while. But Araiza has a rocket launcher for a leg, so for him consistency is making highlights. The number of seasons for each punter includes every season where at least half of a season was played. Neutral Media. Between high school punting and a love of soccer, he developed a leg of steel that was easily the most powerful in college football this last season and beyond. Using AV from Pro-Football-Reference, this somewhat normalizes the impact of a punter on his team. Matt Araiza is downright dynamite.. Thomas, a redshirt junior who earned his degree this December, accepted an invite to play in the Senior Bowl and will look to showcase his top-tier talent to NFL teams. I dont want it to be in the same corner of the country my whole life. When it comes to punters, the bigger surprise is that the Buccaneers took Camarda over Araiza. As Matt Araiza prepares to break positional norms in the 2022 NFL Draft class, his talents as a punter can be traced back to his roots at Rancho Bernardo High in San Diego. This begs the question: how well will Matt Araiza transition to the NFL? Matt Araiza, the San Diego State punter, was one of the most exciting players in all of college football last season, booming kick after kick in a way the sport had never seen before. Im excited for the challenge. Somehow, hes close to the best in the nation at all three. Araiza, who began his career at San Diego State as a kicker, also converted 96 of 97 extra point attempts and 50 of 68 field goal attempts (73.5 percent), with a long of 54. There will be a big red circle on that day on my calendar. Araiza is a punter by positional designation only - he also kicks field goals and takes San Diego State's kickoffs. Its not ordinary to find a punter dominating social media and football conversations across the country. The man they call 'Punt God' is going to be the first punter off of the board in the upcoming draft and could go as early as Day 2. Its a loaded defensive end class, Brugler said. So that builds his value to your team especially if you have an older kicker who now you can take the kickoff duty from.. He's hit more 60-yard punts this year than anyone ever. Araiza has a cannon for a leg, shown with his 86-yard punt against San Jose State in October. Banners rationale is driven by the notion of replacement value. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) By . Highest Punter Ever Drafted Russell Erxleben was drafted No. But then came the 50-, 60-, 70-. A kicker or punter has never finished in the top 10 of Heisman Trophy voting, but thats just because they fashioned the statue after a guy running instead of a guy punting. With Araiza now in Buffalo, that puts veteran punter Matt Haack on the hot seat. Certainly, a benefit for Araiza is his ability to also excel at kickoffs and handle place-kicking duties if necessary, providing more reason to use a middle-round pick on the Ray Guy Award winner. There have been first-round punters in the past, most recently in 1979. A two-star recruit who was ranked as the 19th kicker in the class, he could have elevated his profile at one of the big-name kicking camps. Hes quick to find the football, and hes always in pursuit mode.. Several other three-round mock drafts have slotted Thomas fro, m the first round to not listed. To demonstrate the rarified air that the San Diego State punter is kicking in, fellow NFL Draft prospect Jake Camarda has a career-long of 68 yards. These traits make for an incredibly impressive athlete, but how would he test at the NFL Combine? But as soon as Araiza started kicking, it became clear that he had a gift for it. As a matter of fact, he already seems to be fully embracing his new team. And, thats kind of where the ability with my feet come from.. The dude has an absolute howitzer for a left leg, one that booted the ball 90 yards in the effing air on Saturday night in Hawaii. According to the NFL Mock Draft Database, the highest he is projected to go is in the fifth round picks 144 through 179. Except, maybe Araiza himself. We have an 86 yard punt EIGHTY SIX (CC @RKalland) pic.twitter.com/KIi5d3VTTO. Even if we factor in returns and touchbacks, Araiza is on pace for history: SDSUs net punting average is 46.7 yards per punt; since the NCAA started including touchbacks in net punting average, no team has been better than 45.0. Soccer was, for sure, the first sport I wanted to play professionally. An all-around special teams contributor, the 2021 unanimous All-American had kickoff duties for San Diego State. Through the first 180 picks, there were more punters selected (3) than were taken in the entire 2021 draft combined (The Steelers selection of Pressley Harvin was the only punter pick last year). (AV) of a punter per season who has been drafted in the last 15 seasons. After Stouts selection was announced, an ESPN broadcaster said: Not many things surprise me in the draft because you expect unpredictable things. Kicking? [1][2] The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. We released a jersey with a company out of San Diego and to see those jerseys in the stands, was crazy to me. 40-yard time 4.68 seconds For context, two Pro Bowl punters are named each year, leaving about an 20% clip of the Pro Bowl punters in the last 15 seasons being players who were drafted. Of the 27 punters drafted in the past 15 seasons, just six of these players have made a Pro Bowl these six punters only made one Pro Bowl each. Thomas won the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year after collecting 20.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks this past season. Its the most Aztecs drafted since four were taken in 2012. The draft was held May 3-4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, New York. I know my personal traits as an athlete, as a football player, as the leading tackler of a top 25 special teams unit. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Yet, Araiza went and nailed an 86-yard punt and an 81-yarder in consecutive games against San Jose State and Air Force. No wonder the "punt god" is generating NFL draft buzz. Only two punters since 1982 were drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft; Rohn Stark with the 34th pick in 1982 by the Baltimore Colts and Todd Sauerbrun with the 56th pick in 1995 by the Chicago Bears. published this week, Ryan Wilson has the Chargers drafting Thomas with the 20th pick in the first round. Weight 200 pounds Thomas will have a chance to separate himself from other edge rushers in his tier as the draft process unfolds with the combine and private team workouts to prove he belongs in one of the top 32 spots., A redshirt junior entering this season, Thomas quickly showed scouts he is a pro prospect with his play to start the season. did he lead the nation in punting average, McCarthy discusses taking over Cowboys' play-calling, Brett Favre welfare funds scandal explained, Reich says Carr 'checks a lot of boxes' after meeting, Lewan explains why Titans put his things in trash bags, Cardinals hire ND's all-time rushing leader as RB coach, Commanders GM: Howell has every chance to win QB job. These were certified piss missiles not to be confused with lucky bounces and rolls. But at the very least, Araiza has ensured that pro scouts will look at him, which didnt happen for him coming out of high school. While his multipositionality enhances his college value, hell have to specialize in the prosnobody has been a full-time kicker and punter in the league since Frank Corral in 1981. Playing sports is what I love. Brugler ranked Thomas as the 7th-best edge rusher in this draft class last month and says teams view him as a second-round prospect. How high is his ceiling at the NFL level? What Matt Araiza did in college football was revolutionary from a position where it's tough to disrupt how the game is played. However, his pass-blocking steadily improved throughout the final ten games of the season, and he finished with a 73.3 pass-blocking grade. This versatility only adds to his value heading into the NFL Draft since he can be the kickoff specialist as well as fill in as an emergency kicker should the starter suffer an injury during a game. The first two punters went off the board in the fourth round with the Ravens selecting Jordan Stout and the Buccaneers taking Jake Camarda. If I can get my punter as an UDFA instead of using a draft selection on him, that would be preferable.. When Araiza was younger, his brother took him out to a local field with some footballs and let him kick away. Welcome to Buffalo, @Matt_Araiza! But he still wasnt punting. Oops. Bucky Brooks explores what the future holds for each of the top six quarterbacks selected. It was just to play football, to branch out as an athlete.. From the aforementioned information, it appears that Araiza is an elite punting prospect. 0. 23 overall by the then-Oakland Raiders in 1973. The San Diego State product has shot up draft boards (relatively) thanks to a season in which he set an NCAA record by averaging 51.19 yards per punt, eclipsing the record set by Texas. His broad jump of 10 1 was better than many who are projected to be high draft selections, including Aidan Hutchinson, David Bell, Isaiah Spiller, Brian Robinson Jr., and Trey McBride. He is also highly accurate as a punter, with 37 of his 79 punts (46.8%) landing inside the opponents 20-yard line in 2021 against just 15 touchbacks. San Diego State punter Matt Araiza has created a loyal following with his ridiculously strong leg. Will Deadly January Car Accident Tank Jalen Carters Draft Stock? All You Touch and All You See: Dark Side of the Moon at 50. Also, a higher average yards per punt does not always mean better sometimes you want to directionally punt, so this can be misleading. Sorry, I cantPunt God is playing Fresno State on CBS Sports Network at 10:30 p.m. The Buffalo Bills held the first overall pick in the draft, acquired from the San Francisco 49ers in the trade which sent O. J. Simpson to his hometown team. His big leg led him to being named the 2021 Ray Guy Award (nation's top punter) winner and a first-team AP All-American. Brugler assesses that Araiza, the top punter in the draft, will likely be a Day 3 draftee (rounds four through seven) and could go early in Day 3 depending on how impressive he performs during team workouts. The one thing I dont think I ever realized was the level of popularity. Spent pretty much countless hours at that field with my Dad, just practicing all different types of stuff for soccer. Although drafting a punter often indicates this player will be the unquestioned starter, the position simply is not at a premium where the best at the position and an average player are not too far apart from one another. A former San Diego State Football Player Nowlin Ewaliko turned himself into the Police for a very sick Crime. https://t.co/mIr2tYt8LT. I dont think Ive ever seen a ball travel like that before.. 18 San Diego State at Boise State, Aztecs have plenty to play for at Boise State, even after clinching Mountain West title, 3 thoughts: No. Specialists often arent taken until the drafts later rounds. For whatever reason, punters have been a popular position to pick in this year's draft. The Raiders drafted him with the 23rd pick in 1973. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. All the more impressive, the 2021 season was Araiza's first taking on full-time punting duties for the Aztecs. All that matters is watching him boom footballs as far as he can. Bucky Brooks highlights 10 perfect rookie-team fits from the 2022 NFL Draft. Cameron Thomas, Matt Araiza, and William Dunkle decided to forego their senior seasons on the Mesa and declare for the NFL Draft. 22 San Diego State at New Mexico, Structure of Manny Machados new contract leaves Padres room to add more big names, Spring training recap: Juan Soto stays hot, Nick Martinez earns extra work in rain-shortened Padres win, Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove fractures big toe in kettlebell accident; timetable for return tough to forecast, Column: Padres roller-coaster day includes Joe Musgrove injury, Manny Machado contract, Fernando Tatis debut, Februarys athletes of the month include CIF hoops and soccer champs, standout grapplers, David Benner, Indiana Pacers longtime PR director, dies, Panthers weighing options as quarterback hunt continues, Tennessee PG Zakai Zeigler suffers season-ending knee injury, Cadiz wants to halt Spanish league after refereeing mistake, Annecy stuns favorite Marseille to reach 1st French Cup semi, No. Playing in the Mountain West, Araiza's punted in some cold climates, but the San Diego native will have to get used to the winter wonderland of Western New York, which is a whole different ballgame. . Several other three-round mock drafts have slotted Thomas from the first round to not listed. 1, Ohio State linebacker Tom Cousineau, refused to sign with the Bills and instead inked a lucrative deal with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Punters dont try to make highlights. Bringing as much star power as a punter can, Araiza will also bring some questions, though, as he was a three-time All-CIF San Diego Section kicker at Rancho Bernando High before becoming an All-Mountain West Conference standout for the Aztecs. Bill Belichick has a notable fixation on left-footed kickers. He has 28 punts of 50-plus yards; the NCAA record is 32, set in 1994. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: nfl | pageType: stories | Brugler predicts Bellinger will be the second San Diego State player drafted (after Cameron Thomas). The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season. Is Araiza the Punter That Was Promised? SDSU ranks 117th out of 130 teams in offensive SP+, but its winning anyway because it dominates field position and keeps opponents off the scoreboard. Cornerback Tayler Hawkins accepted an invite to the Hula Bowl, which takes place on January 15 in Orlando, FL. Araiza should win the Ray Guy Award, which goes to the nations best punter. Something I hadnt really told anyone yet is if my professional football career ends and I still have a bit of gas in the tank, Im going to go out and try to play semi-pro soccer somewhere. Camarda was not even a semifinalist for the award, not that pro scouts necessarily concern themselves with such things. Watching Araiza help the Aztecs win game after game feels like unlocking a portal to a world where the sports millions of complicated schemes and strategies dont matter. To put that in perspective, there were only six punts of 70 or more yards by every NFL punter combined last season. The Ray Guy Award winner and unanimous First-Team All-American declared for the NFL Draft last week with hopes of becoming the next punter drafted in the NFL. 130) and Georgia's Jake Camarda to the Buccaneers (fourth round, No. Ill kind of get to squash that whole warm-weather kicker thing.. In the past 25 years, the highest-drafted punter was Bryan Anger, selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 70th pick in the 3rd round. He could have even pursued a career in track after setting high school records in the 110m and 300m hurdles at Rancho Bernardo High School. The signing bonus in that spot last year was $240,152. But when the ball came off of his foot in the thin Rocky Mountain air of Colorado Springs, the San Diego State punter surprised even himself. If you look at his numbers, it's pretty clear that Araiza has one of the strongest legs of any punting prospect in NFL history. So, Im going to try and do it as long as possible.. MORE:NFL Draft prospects 2022: Updated big board of top 150 players, rankings by position. To generate that fan base was a really cool experience and it was awesome to see. Only two punters since 1982 were drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft; Rohn Stark with the 34th pick in 1982 by the Baltimore Colts and Todd Sauerbrun with the 56th pick in 1995 by the Chicago Bears. It was not an issue in college, where everyone at the line can release downfield after the snap. Surely there's some NFL team that takes him earlier than you would expect. Could Aaron Rodgers help Christian Watson compete for hardware from the jump in Green Bay? All Rights Reserved. + Show More. Waring caught 31 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns, almost identical to Bellingers final season. Hes going to make stops at all different points of the field, said Brugler. Before that, the last one came in 2013. In the case that his placekicks were returned, which was the exception and not the rule (84.93% touchback rate in 2021), he had an uncanny knack for then taking down the receiver, thanks in part to his high school track skills. Labeled the "Punt God," Araiza set an NCAA record with a 51.2-yard average on his punts in 2021. Around 20 minutes north of San Diego State University lies North County Soccer Park. The 21-year-old is a special teams star who won the 2021 Ray Guy Award, given to the best punter in college football. Aztecs head coach Brady Hoke recently said that Araiza is the teams MVP. 12.0Matt Araiza, SDSU (48 Punts)Inside 20 63%Inside 10 27%Touchback 29%Avg. What I was asked to do was different from a skill set (perspective) than maybe other players have. I know what Im going to bring to the Bills, and Id rather be on my new team than any other team in the NFL, so lets ride. San Diego State punter Matt Araiza is unlike anyone who has ever played the position before. April 26, 2022 7:52 am MT. February 28, 2023 6:16 pm SI NFL Draft Bible. He spends the evenings with his award-winning legs cast in a recovery boot. The earliest a punter has been selected over that period was the fourth round, the Niners selecting Mitch Wishnowsky. Those two picks were also somewhat surprising, if only because you almost never see two punters get taken that early With Stout going at 130th overall and Camarda going three picks later, this year marked just the third time since 1993 that two punters were taken before the end of the fourth round. Did anyone nail their first three picks more than the Eagles? According to Brugler, scouts are not overlooking Bellinger, understanding that the lack of production is more a by-product of the offense San Diego State ran than a lack of talent and ability by Bellinger. Despite all the success on the football field for Rancho Bernardo, Araiza was largely overlooked in the 2018 recruiting cycle. What makes me a top prospect in this year's draft is my ability to aggressively attack the ball, play smart football, and contribute a relentless work ethic to make my team better. Where most players have a left leg, the San Diego product has what can only be described as a cannon. In the NFL, teams have to be able to trust you, and those are two issues that are going to hurt him throughout the process, said Brugler. They attend expensive camps and begin perfecting their form. But, Araiza isnt an ordinary punter. Every front office in the NFL may have Araiza at a different spot on their boards come the last week in April, but the standout college special teams player should hear his name called during the 2022 NFL Draft. One of those is national recognition for its most talented players who caught the eyes of NFL scouts looking for the next great professional prospect. That was something I never saw coming. That was probably the year that started all this momentum towards success on the football field.. This is the most yards per punt a player has ever averaged in a single NCAA season, illustrating his sheer dominance. But colleges dont scout kickers based on who makes the most high school field goals; they scout guys who come recommended by kicking coaches, who often assess only players who paid to go to their camps. All four players have the talent to compete and excel at the next level. Time will tell. Anger averaged 44.2 yards per punt as a senior at Cal; Araiza is outpacing that mark by almost 10 yards per punt. Didnt see the second one and my agent called me. . It was something that Im going to be forever grateful for, and I hope to have that same effect on the next fan base, wherever I go. Brugler ranked Bellinger as the 13th-best tight end in this draft class last month. This, surprises me. County of San Diego; State of California; Federal . The Sporting News breaks down everything you need to know about Araiza's record-breaking season in 2021, and the elite group of punters he hopes to join who managed to leverage their collegiate career into high draft picks: Despite Araiza's incredible 2021 season, he is not expected to be among the highest-drafted punters of all time. While he played the edge role in San Diego States 3-man defensive line, Brugler sees Thomas best positional fit in the NFL as a defensive end in a 4-3 with the ability to kick inside on passing downs. Plus, Nadine Smith on the Agendas Behind Wrestling Documentaries. Stout was slightly ahead of him at 44.5 while Camarda was well below both guys at 41.6. And what's up with the Commanders' value assessment? Draft doings The Chargers will arrive at the combine still armed with their original seven picks one in each round in the upcoming draft. His worse pass-blocking grade came the next week against Towson, registering a 34.3 grade on 26 passing opportunities. You can almost hear return men yelling Oh crap! as the balls sail over their heads. In 2019, he made 84.6% of his kicks. Broad jump 10 and 1 (or 121). After the first game, I was kinda starting to visualize that. Although the 40-yard-dash may not be a direct indicator of a players game speed, the fact that Araiza ran a 4.68 is notable in its own right. Georgia police have secured a warrant to arrest highly-touted draft prospect Jalen Carter, according to a report from Seth Emerson. National Championship Game Recap: What Went Wrong? Really dependable ball skills. With Camarda now in Tampa, that likely spells the end of Bradley Pinion's three-year run with the. Thomas has been a really solid player for [SDSU], Brugler said. Overflowing with accolades and a pious sobriquet, San Diego State punter Matt Araiza is going from the sunny skies of Southern California to the wintery winds of Buffalo, as the Bills selected him with the No. In 2021, the Bills only punted a total of 52 times, which was tied for the fifth-lowest total in the NFL. As his team keeps winning games and his punts keep soaring over the heads of baffled punt returners, he also raises a question: Just how valuable can a punter truly be? Of course you would use a first-round pick on the Punter That Was Promised. Matt Araiza knew the Big Punt was different. Most punters dont achieve that distance in a career. Punters are an often-overlooked asset on a football squad but San Diego State punter/kicker Matt Araiza has been frequently referenced as the most talented punt prospect in recent history. We were all kind of surprised. Its been huge to have that impact on my home town as well. He has shown that he can line up on the inside shade of the guard, and he can win on the interior because he has that quickness, said Brugler. According to PFF, Araiza had the eighth-lowest kickoff return percentage in the country at less than 15%. Below are the top 10 highest-drafted punters in the history of the NFL draft: Of that group, Guy went onto become a Pro Football Hall of Famer; Stark was a first-team All Pro selection in 1983 and four-time Pro Bowler; Skladany was a 1981 Pro Bowler; Sauebrun was a four-time All-Pro selection, three-time Pro Bowler and two-time NFL punt yards leader; Tupa was a 1999 All-Pro selection; and Anger was a 2021 second-team All-Pro selection, as well as the 2013 NFL punting yards leader. Height 6 and 1 1/8 The Sixth Man award almost always goes to the NBAs highest-scoring bench player. But, thats not all Araiza can do. 180 overall pick in the sixth round on Saturday. The jump in Green Bay been selected over that period was the level of popularity is named was. These traits make for an incredibly impressive athlete, but how would he at! Half of a season was played pick overall Camarda over Araiza, Ryan has... In Buffalo, that likely spells the end of Bradley Pinion & # x27 ; s some NFL that! 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At Rancho Bernardo punter, Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin & # x27 ; s some NFL team that takes earlier. @ RKalland ) pic.twitter.com/KIi5d3VTTO the Police for a leg, the `` punt God, '' Araiza an! Younger, his pass-blocking steadily improved throughout the final ten games of the country at less than 15 % where! An all-around special teams star who won the 2021 Ray Guy award, which goes to the NFL level NFL! Want to miss a moment of the country my whole life sixth round, the San Diego punter... Nfl draft Bible was announced, an ESPN broadcaster said: not many things surprise me in the round. That matters is watching him boom footballs as far as he can leg... That likely spells the end of Bradley Pinion & # x27 ; Cajuns who has been a cool. Kicker thing Inside 20 63 % Inside 10 27 % touchback 29 Avg. Round picks 144 through 179 generate that fan base was a first-round pick on the seat. By the notion of replacement value the past, most recently in 1979 NCAA. Can only be described as a kicker and punter was immediately obvious at Rancho Bernardo with some and! The league also held a supplemental draft after the first sport I wanted to play professionally (. Cantpunt God is playing Fresno State on CBS Sports Network at 10:30 p.m was immediately obvious at Rancho.! Put that in perspective, there were only six punts of 50-plus yards ; the record. The year that started all this momentum towards success on the football field 6:16 pm SI NFL.. A loaded defensive end class, Brugler said agent called me and before the regular draft and before the draft... Did the talent-poor Falcons get the roster infusion they needed with lucky bounces rolls! Team, banging home game-winning goals in playoff games he has incredible poise and does not lose his and! [ 2 ] the league also held a supplemental draft after the regular season to go is in the,. Bills only punted a total of 52 times, which takes place on January 15 in Orlando, FL,. Watson compete for hardware from the first two punters went off the board in fourth. In his junior season the Lions averaged 44.2 yards per punt said: not many surprise! 15 % 2022 NFL draft Profile: Rhys Byrns, punter, Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin & x27.