In 2019, he made 84.6% of his kicks. They'll give up some big returns, but they'll also have some giant flips of field position.". More than 300 prospects for the . All four players have the talent to compete and excel at the next level. In the NFL, only two players can release, so additional time to get downfield is significant. They try to be consistent, perfecting their motion so its the same every time. His worse pass-blocking grade came the next week against Towson, registering a 34.3 grade on 26 passing opportunities. Anger averaged 44.2 yards per punt as a senior at Cal; Araiza is outpacing that mark by almost 10 yards per punt. Soon after San Diego State's bowl win in December, Araiza declared early for the drafta rarity for a punterand began the transition from player to prospect. Above is a plot of the average Approximate Value (AV) of a punter per season who has been drafted in the last 15 seasons. Its been a huge honor.. NFL+ gives you the freedom to watch LIVE out-of-market preseason games, LIVE local and primetime regular season and postseason games on your phone or tablet, the best NFL programming on-demand, and MORE! The Sixth Man award almost always goes to the NBAs highest-scoring bench player. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. If Araiza doesnt win this award, I will forever consider it illegitimate, and potentially commit arson at the Ray Guy Award headquarters. Playing sports is what I love. Did the talent-poor Falcons get the roster infusion they needed? "For a specialist, it's so random," Araiza said. Araizas performances have been record-setting. Bill Belichick has a notable fixation on left-footed kickers. 0. Thomas has been a really solid player for [SDSU], Brugler said. Something went wrong. Stout was slightly ahead of him at 44.5 while Camarda was well below both guys at 41.6. Hes also redefining how valuable punters can really be. But a few plays didn't quite go . We have an 86 yard punt EIGHTY SIX (CC @RKalland) pic.twitter.com/KIi5d3VTTO. NFL Draft Profile: Rhys Byrns, Punter, Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns. But as soon as Araiza started kicking, it became clear that he had a gift for it. Per the report, police implicated Carter in street racing, which . 2023 USFL College Draft: Three Players From Mountain West Selected, San Diego State Football: Three Questions For Spring Practice. This season, hes put it to devastating use week in and week out. Although there's some concern that Araiza's booming punts could lead to him outkicking his coverage, San Diego State seemed to do just fine covering his punts. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. Avid sports fan and historian of basketball, baseball, football and soccer. Stout was one of the top punters in this year's class and it wasn't a total shocker to see him become the first punter taken. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2022 Bowman Draft Paper Base #BD-73 Jakob Marsee - San Diego Padres at the best online prices at eBay! As for Araiza, the Bills could potentially be getting a steal with their selection of the player known as "Punt God.". The number of seasons for each punter includes every season where at least half of a season was played. In 2020, he dialed in 71.4%, and in 2021, he achieved 64.3%. Since 2001, NFL teams starting drives from inside their own 5-yard line have scored just 16.8 percent of the time. 16.0. Matt Araiza knew the Big Punt was different. That was probably the year that started all this momentum towards success on the football field.. Maybe some preferred right-footed kickers over guys like Araiza, a Rancho Bernardo High alum who is left-footed. After the first game, I was kinda starting to visualize that. From the aforementioned information, it appears that Araiza is an elite punting prospect. The announcers were astounded. The NFL scouting combine an intense and significant event in the pre-draft process is underway in Indianapolis. Which teams helped themselves in Las Vegas -- and which teams are trending in the wrong direction? This might have been due to a tendency by head coach Brady Hoke to put him in aggressive scoring situations, asking Araiza to attempt many tries from 40 yards and beyond in later seasons (he was 3-of-9 from 50+ yards in 2021). Araiza also boomed an 86-yard punt last season, which was the longest in college football. Really dependable ball skills. Bills select San Diego St. punter Matt Araiza in sixth round of 2022 NFL Draft Published: Apr 30, 2022 at 04:09 PM Grant Gordon Digital Content Editor Though the Buffalo Bills got the third. He believes it is worth taking chances on other positions earlier in the draft rather than a punter. We released a jersey with a company out of San Diego and to see those jerseys in the stands, was crazy to me. San Diego States Matt Araiza is the third punter in school history selected in the NFL Draft. This punter would make the average opponent worse than the 2021 Jets, who score on 22.1 percent of their drives. He was the San Diego sectional kicker of the year in all three years he kicked, and broke the county record for career field goals. 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). In fact, the San Diego State punter and placekicker had his eye on playing in his school's brand-new stadium next season while going for a master's degree. April 26, 2022 7:52 am MT. Araiza had a 6.09 Prospect Grade on NFL.com, compared to 5.99 for Stout and 5.85 for Camarda. 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. How high is his ceiling at the NFL level? Georgia police have secured a warrant to arrest highly-touted draft prospect Jalen Carter, according to a report from Seth Emerson. For whatever reason, punters have been a popular position to pick in this year's draft. He ran track as an underclassman at Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, and recently told the Union-Tribune that the hurdles helped his footwork on punting. Zac Al-Khateeb is a content producer for The Sporting News. I never saw that coming. Hes big. All four players have the talent to compete and excel at the next level. 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. Yet, hed only punted in one game prior to this season. . National Championship Game Recap: What Went Wrong? . Of Araiza's 79 punts, 37 went for at least 50 yards; 17 went for 60 yards or more; six went at least 70 yards; and two went for 80-plus yards (no other punter had two punts of 80 yards). However, his pass-blocking steadily improved throughout the final ten games of the season, and he finished with a 73.3 pass-blocking grade. But, thats not all Araiza can do. 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. The Buffalo Bills tweeted out the announcement with a picture of Araiza wearing his red and black Aztecs jersey with now-familiar No. Logically, the first media question to. Copyright 2019-2023. Although it is important to recognize that some of these punters have not had as many seasons as others theyve competed against, some believe a player like Araiza should be one of the top NFL punters immediately upon entering the league. 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. Cameron Thomas, Matt Araiza, and William Dunkle decided to forego their senior seasons on the Mesa and declare for the NFL Draft. Who failed to address serious needs? 130) and Georgia's Jake Camarda to the Buccaneers (fourth round, No. It wasn't surprising that San Diego State punter Matt Araiza lasted until the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, where the Buffalo Bills chose Araiza. To put that in perspective, there were only six punts of 70 or more yards by every NFL punter combined last season. The Aztecs are 7-0 and have the nation's 5th-ranked defense with a potent rushing offense. Bellinger recently signed with JB Sports, Inc., the same agency that represents, Dunkle declared for the NFL Draft after finishing the season with a. , the highest by an offensive lineman since Pro Football Focus (PFF) began tracking the metric. 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. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) By . 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. 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. 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. And starting this fall, San Diego State also tasked Araiza with doing the thing that he was put on this earth to do: punt the football. He spends the evenings with his award-winning legs cast in a recovery boot. (AV) of a punter per season who has been drafted in the last 15 seasons. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. Field Pos. Brugler praised Thomas lateral quickness and constant effort to get to the ball. But the biggest question about Harden remainsand it wont be answered until the playoffs. Araiza set the FBS record this year with a 51.19 average. Its been huge to have that impact on my home town as well. Who does Brady Hoke think is the MVP of the undefeated @AztecFB ?The answer may surprise some, but not if youve been watching SDSU & @matt_araiza More from Hoke tonight @footballnightsd @nbcsandiego @GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/6Vh3f56Ms7. I grew up playing three on three on this tiny indoor field, and thats kind of where my love for soccer and sports started. Show me in the rule book where it says a punter cant win the Heisman! Gennaro Filice provides draft grades for each NFC South team. Most punters dont achieve that distance in a career. Araiza is ready and raring to go wherever the next step on his journey takes him. Somehow, were both getting what we want. Araiza could have pursued soccer as a career. Several other three-round mock drafts have slotted Thomas fro, m the first round to not listed. Except, maybe Araiza himself. Averaging 51.19 yards per punt, Araiza is the all-time single-season average punt distance leader. 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. It was definitely a cool experience.. 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. in this draft class last month and says teams view him as a second-round prospect. His 39 punts of over 50 yards are a single-season NCAA record, as are his 18 punts of over 60 yards. Over the past half-decade, 12 punters have been drafted. 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. Araiza set a school record for made field goals in a season and ranked sixth in the nation in touchback percentage in 2019. Araiza set an NCAA record with a 51.19-yard punting average boosted by punts of 86 and 81 yards as well as a record 39 punts of 50-plus yards and 18 punts of 60-plus yards. 22 San Diego State 73, New Mexico 71 the last play, Darrion Trammell and the Minnesota job, Lamont Butlers buzzer-beater quiets Lobos, earns SDSU at least a share of Mountain West Conference title, Game preview: No. Is Brad Holmes' enthusiastic drafting paying dividends for the Lions? Patriots coach Bill Belichick famously fetishizes lefty puntershe probably has a hard drive full of Araiza clips lying around his office. Braden Mann, the punter who previously held the FBS record with a 50.98 average, was drafted by the New York Jets in the 6th round in 2020. Punting you go out there and you swing as hard as you want.. While punter prospects arent rare theyre more commonplace than youd expect no prospect at the position has captured the imagination with a mastery of their craft quite like the San Diego State standout. San Diego State's Matt Araiza put in a historic year. 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. In 2021, the Bills only punted a total of 52 times, which was tied for the fifth-lowest total in the NFL. 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. I loved European football, soccer. When Araiza was younger, his brother took him out to a local field with some footballs and let him kick away. The number of seasons for each punter includes every season where at least half of a season was played. With Araiza now in Buffalo, that puts veteran punter Matt Haack on the hot seat. Will Malik Willis develop into a high-end QB for the Titans? Araiza knocked it out of the park, posting numbers comparable to some highly ranked prospects. [Scouts] see the traits, says Brugler. Highest Punter Ever Drafted Russell Erxleben was drafted No. Ray Guy, for whom a college football award is named, was a first-round pick in 1973. Will Deadly January Car Accident Tank Jalen Carters Draft Stock? 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. ET. What I was asked to do was different from a skill set (perspective) than maybe other players have. Three juniors, all local San Diego kids, were named to the Associated Press All-American Teams. The Raiders drafted him with the 23rd pick in 1973. That motor really helps him frequently make tackles away from the line of scrimmage that a lot of defensive ends just dont make. In addition to his record-setting punting, hes drilled three 50-yard field goals, second most in college football, and has the fourth-longest average kickoff distance (65.0 yards). I dont want it to be in the same corner of the country my whole life. 12 punters have been drafted. `` punter would make the average opponent worse the! Malik Willis develop into a high-end QB for the Titans, perfecting their so! 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