For whatever reason, punters have been a popular position to pick in this year's draft. Former Aztecs punter Matt Araiza reaching new heights with his kicks (Interestingly, I found out while researching this that Cleveland used second round picks in both 1977 and 1978 to draft a punter. Eric D. Williams goes to practice with Matt Araiza, who could be the first punter selected on Day 2 of a draft since 2012. . Jimmypinthe416 says: August 28, 2022 at 11:39 am Was belichik lying when he drafted Hernandez. Matt Araiza, better known as "Punt God", played for the San Diego State Aztecs for a total of three seasons between 2019 and 2021. Jordan Davis combines size and athleticism. Together, they were unblockable. Jump around this article Click to show Punters are NFL Draft prospects, too always have been, always will be. The LA Chargers could consider drafting Matt Araiza in the 2022 NFL Draft. 2021 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST SECOND TEAM (COACHES): PK - Matt Araiza, Jr., San Diego State,.Araiza, a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, has already set NCAA records in 50-yard punts (38) and 60-yard punts (18) in a season, and is on track to break Braden Mann's record of 50.98 set in 2018 while with Texas A&M. The team admits learning about the allegation in July. All this high school success mattered very little when it came to the recruiting process. Report: Some NFL teams knew of Matt Araiza allegations before 2022 draft Araiza is currently averaging 52.2 yards per punt. At worst, the allegation contained in a civil lawsuit filed Thursday that Araiza, a former San Diego State star . But the San Diego State punter, nicknamed "Punt God" by Twitter and anyone that has seen his 80-yard moonshots for three seasons with the Aztecs, has declared for the 2022 NFL Draft. Araiza, who was released by the Bills on Saturday, was accused of being involved in the gang rape of a 17-year-old, with details coming to light after a lawsuit was filed in San Diego County Superior Court accusing Araiza and two of his teammates at San Diego State. Araizas leg power is also demonstrated as a field goal and kickoff specialist. For more 2022 NFL Draft coverage and player profiles, check out our NFL Draft page. Two NFL teams had Matt Araiza red flags before draft. Coach Marwan Maalouf, currently coaching special teams at the University of Miami and longtime NFL special teams coach, thinks highly of Araiza. Finally, Araiza has shown toughness and athletic ability during his time at San Diego State. Matt Araiza is San Diego State's record-setting punter. 2:39 pm ET, did he lead the nation in punting average, 2023 NFL free agent interior offensive linemen, NFL free agent offensive tackles: Sizing up 2023 market, Free agent WR market: Breaking down available talent, NFL 2023 free agency: Top TEs set to hit open market, NFL 2023 free agency: Top RBs set to hit open market, 'Punt God' Matt Araiza not first punter taken, NFL Combine: QB, WR, TE run 40s, compete in drills, Mock Draft: Panthers, Colts trade up for QBs, Rodgers' trade value, logistics, best fit, Pascal robbed at gunpoint, assaulted; WR 'doing fine', Bryce Young measures similar to former No. While a replication of Guys first-round selection is as unlikely as Pat Bradys 99-yard punt for Nevada in 1950, Araizas scouting report reveals an NFL-worthy talent who should hear his name called as early as Day 2 in the 2022 NFL Draft. 2022 NFL Draft: Matt "Punt God" Araiza Scouting Report This unit was added to a lot this offseason. Above is a plot of the average. Araizas punting style with a nose-down punt leaves improvement for coffin corners. Brugler's take: The Ray Guy Award winner last season, Araiza has a booming leg and showed it off as a punter and kicker (field goals, extra points, kickoffs . When it comes to punters, the bigger surprise is that the Buccaneers took Camarda over Araiza. Certainly, the conversation around Araiza as a potential Day 2 prospect fuels that narrative. He was also one of four players in the nation who handled all three kicking duties (punts, PATs/field goals and kickoffs), Araiza was 18-of-28 . Where most people have legs attached to their torso, Araiza has an actual cannon. Hes not just the last line of defense, either. 2023 NFL Combine Hand Size Results: Notable Quarterback Measurements and More, 2023 NFL Combine Risers: Christian Gonzalez, Deonte Banks, and Brian Branch Perform Well, Anthony Richardson Combine Results: Florida Star Makes Case for QB1, Jahmyr Gibbs Landing Spots: Eagles, Saints, and Cardinals Most Popular in Mock Drafts. For starters, college football allows for any player to go downfield after the snap on a punt. Win at all costs happens with every team. In fact, there hasnt been an NFL starter in the 21st century built as big as the Aussie. Im tougher, stronger, more athletic than Odafe Oweh. DB/Specialist Pre-Draft Notes (2022 NFL Draft) by Shane Hallam April 21, 2022 0 520. In 2019, he hit 84.6% of his kicks. "The coach I had for my first eight years in New Orleans, if I hit a punt over 55 yards, he was mad," Morstead said. 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 | All Rights Reserved. That might scare some people given the hype and eventual failures of Roberto Aguayo, but some team will still take a shot on him earlier than the average punter. From his own end zone here, he manages to kick the ball roughly 70 yards through the air, and it bounces enough to make it an 86-yard punt in the stat book. Let them know that we sent you! In 2021, the Bills only punted a total of 52 times, which was tied for the fifth-lowest total in the NFL. Draft Order & Rookie Pools; . Ill make a bold statement and say that, if the Bears trade down and acquire a pick in Round 4, I wouldnt be furious if they took Araiza with that selection. He converted all but one of his 97 career extra-point attempts, too. Stroud Shares Praise for Justin Fields, Fields former OSU teammate and top draft prospect spoke highly of the Bears QB at a Combine media session, Trevis Gipson to particpate in NFL Career Tours. Copyright 2019-2023. If I can get my punter as an UDFA instead of using a draft selection on him, that would be preferable.. But there can be no doubt that in a jumbled quarterback class, taking a punt on the best pure thrower would represent the best value play for quarterback-needy franchises. With the NFL Draft fast approaching, six former San Diego State players soon may learn their football fates. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. While his NFL.com draft profile suggests Araiza could use some work on his directional or pooch punting, he is a field-flipper, as evidenced by his 18 punts of 60 yards or longer in 2021. Matt Araiza Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com His, was better than many who are projected to be high draft selections, including. At least three punters will be selected in the 2022 NFL Draft that is the prediction. San Diego State wasnt prepared for this 10-man rush of the punter, but that didnt matter to Araiza. Some collegiate punters especially Australian punters with Aussie rule backgrounds work out of a rugby-style delivery, which includes wider splits between blockers and a running approach from the punter before kicking it low with the intention of having it bounce and be difficult for returners to field. That ability to flip the field to pin opponents deep in their own half, no matter where his own offense stalls out serves as a cheat code. Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News, for example, projects Araiza to go 174th overall to the defending AFC champion Bengals. Gambling problem? Ive never seen a team do thisTheres a returner at the 30 (50 yards deep from the LOS)Then there's a DEEPER returner at the 10 (SEVENTY YARDS AWAY)AND IT WENT OVER BOTH THEIR HEADS https://t.co/m7Hlsa2tLa. Simply put, Araiza is the best punting prospect to enter the NFL Draft in quite some time. Chase Daniel: Young's Height Is Non-Issue, Stroud: I Don't Want to Be Drafted By Bears, Smith-Njigba: Packers Looking at Receivers, Dave Wannstedt: Mike McCarthy's 'Run the Damn Ball' Comment Ill-Advised, Samari Rolle: Forbes Worthy of Comp to Me, Friday's DB Workout Displayed Clear No. That, combined with the more condensed splits in the NFL, makes a rugby-style delivery tough to impossible to pull off consistently. Above is a plot of the average Approximate Value (AV) of a punter per season who has been drafted in the last 15 seasons. The coach offered Faalele a scholarship on the spot. The 21-year-old is a special teams star who won the 2021 Ray Guy Award, given to the best punter in college football. Every coach will want to do their due diligence as far as timing his touch to toe operation and seeing how he does with a real NFL Duke ball. Obviously, the ability to pin your opponent deep in their own territory represents a significant advantage. Additionally, few of these punters have been widely recognized as the best at their position, even for one season. Former Bills punter Matt Araiza could be in big trouble in gang-rape His performances earned him an invitation to the Senior Bowl, where Jim Nagy had this to say about the 2022 NFL Draft prospect: Had calls with some of [the] top kicking gurus and overwhelming opinion is Georgias Jake Camarda is among best punting prospects to come out in past 5-10 years. Even these statistical accomplishments usually wouldnt attract the adoration that Araiza has received in this NFL Draft process. Chatter among leaky scouts has suggested that Faalele may be too big to play tackle in the league, that he will struggle to dip and sink to wall off the leagues premier dip-and-rip pass-rushers. Bills claim that they knew nothing of Matt Araiza allegations seems 31, the Cincinnati Bengals sit in one of the most interesting spots of any team in the 2022 NFL draft. So why not invest a valuable resource in a player who can boom the ball farther, higher, and with more accuracy than anyone else at his position? LA Rams 2022 NFL Draft Big Board for punters? Yes, punters - Ramblin' Fan If he passes those criteria while youre working him out and he hits the Duke well, able to turn the ball over, then yes, you check off the boxes., Once a special teams coach feels comfortable with Araizas ability, the coach may want to suggest the rest of the front office look into acquiring him in the draft. This is the most yards per punt a player has ever averaged in a single NCAA season, illustrating his sheer dominance. And yet in a weak quarterback class, Strong remains the most gifted thrower of the bunch, a fact that should matter when a quarterbacks principal responsibility is to pass the ball. 17 for the first round of the draft. Araiza may be the greatest college punter of all time. Potential Chargers draft targets: Punter Matt Araiza has their He played fewer than half of Georgias defensive snaps in 2021 and played only 18% of third-down snaps. Additionally, Ray Guy was a first-round pick in 1973, with the award for punting success named after him. Araiza stands at just over 6-foot-1 and weighs 200 pounds. Stroud doesnt want to go to the Bears because Justin Fields, OPINION: Cocaine Bear is stupid, but in a really good way When the idea of, CONTENT 2018 2022 VENDETTA SPORTS MEDIA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions, Why Mitchell Trubisky Is Destined To Fail In The NFL, Barstool Sports Employee Jordyn Woodruff Joins OnlyFans, Sean Allen Sucks At Fantasy Hockey: 2022 Edition, Predicting Four 2023 Middle Linebacker Free Agent Destinations, Von Miller Eyeing GM Career Post Retirement, C.J. He also has the ability to make tackles, with speed and athleticism. Punter prospects in the NFL Draft are more commonplace than youd presume. However, this style doesnt really translate to the NFL. That includes CBSSports.com, which lists Araiza as the 126th prospect in the draft. Araiza is set to be one of the highest-selected punters in recent NFL Draft history. With Araiza now in Buffalo, that puts veteran punter Matt Haack on the hot seat. A minor nitpick in Araizas game is that a quick delivery like his can make it tougher for his teammates to cover significant ground in coverage, but when you factor in how much stronger his leg is than the average punter, it doesnt even matter. the 341 lb Davis ran the 40-yard dash in 4.78 seconds. Getting off the field on third downs is a staple of shouty-man-on-TV analysis, but success on first downs is more predictive of long-term success. One of the most important punting stats is net punting average and Araiza finished the year at 44.3, which ranked sixth in the country. Araiza has made three 50-yard field goals so far this season, the second most in NCAA football. 901 As soon as the ball left Matt Araiza's foot, the competition between the rookie and Matt Haack was over. The biggest surprise is that college football's top punter, Matt Araiza, wasn't the first punter off the board this year. and 387lb (!!) How Early Could SDSU Punter Matt Araiza Get Taken in the NFL Draft The Case for the Dolphins Drafting Matt Araiza (Or Any Punter) NFL Draft Prospects in the 2021 Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl The previous year, he punted five times for 249 yards, averaging 49.8 yards per punt. Thanks for contacting us. Two NFL teams had Matt Araiza red flags before draft 2022 NFL Draft Predictions: Matt Araiza leads class of at least three Talk about flipping the field. Updated. He is exceptional on fourth down, averaging 51.2 yards per punt in his most recent season. I cant see him falling past Round 4, which seems like a weird thing to say about a punter, but thats definitely the case with him. Forces a lot of fair catches. Theres simply no escaping it. The San Diego, California native has a. as the Aztecs kicker. Punter Bryan Anger famously went five picks before Russell Wilson in 2012 with the 70th overall pick. No other punter has nailed two 80+ yard punts in 2021. 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. While Araiza has been electrifying college football this season, Georgia punter Jake Camarda should earn himself the nickname Mr. The NFL Draft doesn't usually give us very many surprises when it comes to punting, but it came through with two big surprises on Saturday. Pro Football Network strives to passionately deliver purposeful, captivating, and exceptional football content. Matt Araiza Draft Profile 2022 | NFL Mock Draft Database However, that doesnt mean that his scouting report doesnt reveal some areas for improvement. Matt Araiza's rape accuser speaks out: "I had no idea who Matt Araiza One of the most exciting prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft is San Diego State Universitys Matt Araiza. 3 things to know about Bills 6th-round pick P Matt Araiza Yet, in San Diego State punter Matt Araiza, the 2022 NFL Draft class might possess the most high-profile and highly skilled punter prospect in recent history. The number of seasons for each punter includes every season where at least half of a season was played. Araizas leg power is also demonstrated as a field goal and kickoff specialist. 17 for the first round of the draft. All 2022 NFL Draft Projections are taken from the latest Sporting News NFL Mock Draft by Vinnie Iyer. Khalil Shakir is going down the well of a former Buffalo Bills great to hopefully improve in Year 2: Eric Moulds. Positives: Strong-legged punter whos also an exceptional directional kicker. And yet, the prediction of a multiple-punter class in the 2022 NFL Draft might surprise a few people. As a FG kicker, his completion percentage has declined with every college season. Araiza served as SDSU's placekicker while he was in college, so he's never had to hold. Yep, thats his shirt size and thats eight Xs for those keeping score at home. go off the board in the second round. The Buffalo Bills have claimed they did not know about allegations recently made in a lawsuit against former punter Matt Araiza prior to the 2022 NFL draft. Araiza sits neatly at the intersection of crusty old Football Guys and the new wave of analytically . John Harbaugh is a former special teams coach and he has a better eye for punters and kickers than any other head coach in the NFL, so if he wanted Stout, you can bet he liked his punting style more than he liked Araiza's booming style. How does Matt Araiza figure in calculus of 2022 NFL Draft? Matt Araiza had two punts of more than 80 yards last season, including an 86-yarder that was the longest punt in college football. If youre sitting comfortably, lets begin. Since 2000, just two draft classes (2017 and 2011) have not had a punter selected to the NFL. After hitting an 86-yard punt against Hawaii, Araiza has become something of a social media starlet, earning the nickname Punt God.. Should the LA Chargers draft punter Matt Araiza in the 2022 NFL Draft? From the aforementioned information, it appears that Araiza is an elite punting prospect. I would rather draft depth at other positions, such as defensive back and linebacker, where the players can develop while contributing on special teams.. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. San Diego State's Matt Araiza is putting punters on the map, and his scouting report reveals why he's a highly rated 2022 NFL Draft prospect. The relationship is not close to being statistically significant here, and the R-squared value is almost negligible. Despite his relatively low recruiting profile, there was a level of expectation around the program when the versatile kicking weapon was finally handed the opportunity to play for the Aztecs in 2019. Being a left-footed punter, teams will have to adjust their formations to help fit his needs. The injury has continued to plague his career, forcing further surgeries in 2020 and 2021. Meet Matt Araiza, San Diego State punter who could be among the highest The 2022 NFL Draft is quickly approaching, with the first round kicking off on Thursday, April 28th. To put that in perspective, there were only six punts of 70 or more yards by every NFL punter combined last season. Troy . PFN Draft Analyst Tony Pauline has Araiza graded as a top-100 player on his latest big board. Weve been studying the players for 11 months. The WCG crew ran through several free agency questions in this roundtable, and today we gave our pick for the signings we want the Bears to avoid. But when you boom not just one, but two punts over 80 yards, you earn some attention. Four drafted punters are actually less rare than one might imagine. As a result, theres an ever-growing feeling that his floor in the 2022 NFL Draft will be the fifth round. The Packers in 2021 saw Mason Crosby struggle and it may have been the end of his Packers career. Super Bowl 2023 Daytona 500 College Basketball Rankings NBA All-Star . Some NFL teams knew about Matt Araiza incident before the draft Safely draftable and carrying middle-round grades in the league.. The left-footer with the big leg has been widely projected by draft analysts as the top . According to the Associated Press, executives from two different NFL teams became aware that Araiza had been involved in an incident in the lead-up to the draft, though they didnt know the extent of the allegations. He is exceptional on fourth down, averaging 51.2 yards per punt in his most recent season. We have an 86 yard punt EIGHTY SIX (CC @RKalland) pic.twitter.com/KIi5d3VTTO. Matt (@matt_araiza) / Twitter You dont get the award that celebrates collegiate punting excellence without being exceptional. Drawing attention across the media landscape driven by the king of punters himself, Pat McAfee Araiza has broken records with his ridiculously powerful left leg. and that Bill Belichick is already salivating over using a second-round pick on him in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Bills, though, were aware that Araiza was the subject of a police investigation when they releasedMatt Haack his competition for the starting punter job on Monday. Stroud: I dont want to go to the Bears; thats Fields team, OPINION: Cocaine Bear is stupid, but in a really good way. Lets start with the obvious. Using AV from Pro-Football-Reference, this somewhat normalizes the impact of a punter on his team. According to PFF, Araiza had the eighth-lowest kickoff return percentage in the country at less than 15%. Yet, in San Diego State punter Matt Araiza, the 2022 NFL Draft class might possess the most high-profile and highly skilled . When and how often will Davis play? Nicknamed "Punt God," the San Diego state product is well known for averaging 80 yards of bounce and an NCAA-record 51.19 yards per punt in 2021. . Fewer punters have been more consistent than the Georgia prospect. Although Araiza saw plenty of action at San Diego State, he might not see the field much in Buffalo. 2022 NFL Draft Team Mock Drafts. I didnt know what a first down was or anything, Faalele told ESPN in 2018. He kicks returners back a considerable amount that the potential for big returns is still limited. Check this out. Even then, the potential power lingering in his left leg remained lowkey. Araiza was widely viewed as the top punting prospect after a 2021 college season that ended with him winning the Ray Guy award. Of course, Ray Guys first-round selection in 1973 is an anomaly. Araiza joined the NFL in April as a sixth-round draft pick. This begs the question: how well will Matt Araiza transition to the NFL? Report: NFL Teams Could Make Surprising Decision At Punter This wasnt just a one-off occurrence either. 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