The reigning Ray Guy Award winner as the nation's top punter, Araiza set an FBS record with a 51.19-yard . 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. Did I mention that Araiza has a powerful leg? AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. This provides for a quicker delivery and is the standard in the NFL. Personally, I would not draft a punter, regardless of how good he is, until the 7th-round the 6th-round at the earliest. Ethan Sears. The injury has continued to plague his career, forcing further surgeries in 2020 and 2021. Picking at No. Araiza served as SDSU's placekicker while he was in college, so he's never had to hold. Not only has he shown his prowess as a punter, but Coach Maalouf adds he kicked off as well and was good at it. Not only did he lead the nation in punting average with an FBS-record 51.4 yards per punt, but he also had six punts of at least 70 yards in 2021, which was the most in the country. 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. As a San Diego native, there was naturally just one choice. Pro Football Network strives to passionately deliver purposeful, captivating, and exceptional football content. I recognize that my train of thought may be different from the rest of the league. Finally, Araiza has shown toughness and athletic ability during his time at San Diego State. As for Araiza, the Bills could potentially be getting a steal with their selection of the player known as "Punt God.". Clouding Strongs status is a knee injury that he picked up playing basketball as a kid, one that saw him miss his senior year of high school football. Colorado States Ryan Stonehouse featured just behind Araiza this year, with an average of 50.9 yards per punt. The 22-year-old was expected to be the Bills' starting punter after playing well during the preseason. Araiza stands at just over 6-foot-1 and weighs 200 pounds. They both feature within draftable range on my recently released 2022 NFL Draft Top 300 Big Board. 17 for the first round of the draft. (Photo by Joshua Bessex/Getty Images) Araiza is currently averaging 52.2 yards per punt. The first two punters went off the board in the fourth round with the Ravens selecting Jordan Stout and the Buccaneers taking Jake Camarda. Both Stout and Camarda carry draftable grades from NFL scouts. They ignored us, [when] I warned them [what] would happen could be avoided if they just kept their heads in the sand. Harbaugh seems to prefer a finesse punter, which is what he's had over the years with Sam Koch, who's been Baltimore's punter since 2006. Although Araizas leg strength is the crown jewel of his scouting report, there are times when hell need to take a little off his punts to achieve success at the next level. Most fans expected San Diego State's Matt Araiza to be the first punter selected in the 2022 NFL draft, but multiple prospects at his position came off the board before he heard his name called . If that seems confusing/odd/laughable (delete as applicable), think about this: In 2021 he hit 18 punts of 60-plus yards and a pair of 80-plus yarders. For his career, Araiza averaged 51.1 yards per punt. I hope he is back in the NFL soon., Asked about the decision not to contact Gilleon, Bills GM Brandon Beane said in a press conference that Kathryn DAngelo, the teams attorney, heard what he had to say and thats when we began our process., Were not perfect. 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. 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. He wound up landing at Minnesota, using the Madden video game series to swot up on the rules and regulations. Stout was slightly ahead of him at 44.5 while Camarda was well below both guys at 41.6. 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. Could Matt Araiza be the next one? For whatever reason, punters have been a popular position to pick in this year's draft. Do It All. During a college career that started at Virginia Tech before his transfer to the Nittany Lions, Stout has been a kickoff specialist, punter, field-goal and extra-point kicker, and even turned his hand to playing quarterback on a fake punt against Michigan in his final season. The Punt God has a legitimate shot at being a day two selection. With the 175th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the LA Rams select punter Matt Araiza out of San Diego State. The number of seasons for each punter includes every season where at least half of a season was played. The. Matt Araiza Draft Stock & Draft Projection. Yet, in San Diego State punter Matt Araiza, the 2022 NFL Draft class might possess the most high-profile and highly skilled . Not too shabby. An achilles injury at Michigans pro day has seen his stock take a hit and served as an example of the dark side of the draft process. San Diego State. Chicago Bears 2023 Free Agency Roundtable: Signing we dont want to see. Indeed, it wouldnt be jaw-dropping to see Araiza a punter! 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. Punt God. This reinforces the significance of gross versus net punting averages. The 21-year-old is a special teams star who won the. These primarily center around consistency. Araiza can be quite a weapon for NFL teams adding a punter in the 2022 draft. Of course he was. Araiza was selected by the Bills in the sixth round (180th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. According to Austin Gayle of Pro Football Focus, 63 percent of Araiza's punts were downed inside the 20; another 27 were downed inside the 10. The term generational talent is incredibly cliche and should be avoided more often than not, as hyperbolic analysts can throw it around to simply describe prospects who are very good, regardless of whether theyre far and away better than other players at their position over the last few decades. Araiza has a cannon for a leg, shown with his. Additionally, Ray Guy was a first-round pick in 1973, with the award for punting success named after him. 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). NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated. Since 2000, just two draft classes (2017 and 2011) have not had a punter selected to the NFL. , our 15th-highest-ranked prospect. Heading into the pre-draft process, Ojabo was projected to be a top-15 pick. Hutchinson was an effort player; Ojabo the beat-them-out-of-their-cleats, vintage, get-off-and-go rusher. That includes CBSSports.com, which lists Araiza as the 126th prospect in the draft. Other Aztecs are also headed for the NFL Draft as well. 2022 NFL Draft Predictions: Matt Araiza leads class of at least three punters picked, The punter prospects projected to be drafted in this 2022 NFL Draft prediction, Ryan Stonehouse and Cameron Dicker round out punter predictions for the 2022 NFL Draft. 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. Forces a lot of fair catches. Araizas game against UNLV gave the football world its first glimpse of him as a punter, nailing 4 of 5 punts over 50 yards. At least three punters will be selected in the 2022 NFL Draft that is the prediction. However, 17 punters have actually been selected on what we would now call Day 2 of the NFL Draft. San Diego State's Matt Araiza headlines a potentially historic 2022 NFL Draft class with at least three punters picked in our projections. 174) - 1. (AV) of a punter per season who has been drafted in the last 15 seasons. Punters can be prolific athletes, too! NFL MOCK DRAFT. So that builds his value to your team especially if you have an older kicker who now you can take the kickoff duty from.. 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. A versatile punter who can flip field position and force the opposition to account for him while nailing game-winning field goals with regularity is hard to find. He was a sixth-round pick of the team at the 2022 NFL draft. against San Jose State in October. Araiza also boomed an 86-yard punt last season, which was the longest in college football. Matt Araiza is one of the more fascinating prospects of the 2022 NFL Draft which is saying something, considering he's a punter. Zac Al-Khateeb is a content producer for The Sporting News. The team admits learning about the allegation in July. Pro Football Network, LLC. They could trade out of the first round and gain a lot by doing so as other teams look to get back into that opening round for a faller. During his three-year stint as the starter for Rancho Bernardo, Araiza boomed a 71-yard long punt. That isnt the case with Araiza, who ran pro-style formations at San Diego State. Yep, thats his shirt size and thats eight Xs for those keeping score at home. For more 2022 NFL Draft coverage and player profiles, check out our NFL Draft page. Faalele looks more like a long-lost third Clegane brother than a starting NFL tackle. As the 2022 NFL Draft nears, its time to put our money where our mouth is and start making some predictions about the class. 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. 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. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. It's not clear why Araiza dropped all the way down to the sixth round, but there are plenty of theories. Here's everything you need to know about Araiza heading into the 2022 NFL Draft. In addition to his prowess as a punter, Araiza has a 73.5% success rate as a field-goal kicker. San Diego State wasnt prepared for this 10-man rush of the punter, but that didnt matter to Araiza. He believes it is worth taking chances on other positions earlier in the draft rather than a punter. March 25, 2022 5 min read. That, combined with the more condensed splits in the NFL, makes a rugby-style delivery tough to impossible to pull off consistently. The victims lawyer, Dan Gilleon, said the Bills also ignored his warnings about Araiza in late July. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Based on Over The Cap's projections, . When a guy leads college football in all major punting statistics including average yards, punt yards per game, punts inside the 20 yard line, and PATs made, he's going to draw NFL draft attention. and 387lb (!!) Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. Araiza is set to be one of the highest-selected punters in recent NFL Draft history. This begs the question: how well will Matt Araiza transition to the NFL? Past. Here are the San Diego State Aztecs headed for the 2022 NFL Draft, from Cameron Thomas to Matt Araiza. His ceiling could be. Shakir, a fifth-round rookie in 2022, got off to a slow start in his career. Reportedly other teams did. But how have other drafted punters panned out in the NFL? In 1976 and 1978, a whopping eight punters were drafted. Current. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). Araiza denied the allegations in a statement released by his agent on Friday, but has not spoken publicly himself. Chicago Bears 2023 Free Agency Roundtable: Signing we expect. Hi coach, Ojabo said. They are going to have to choose between cutting their sixth round draft pick who recently won the starting punter job, or getting harassed by the fans for not cutting him. Just the 270th-ranked player in California and 2,609th nationally, Araiza held only three offers, with San Diego State winning out over UMass and FCS-level Montana. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. Above is a plot of the average. Matt Araiza had two punts of more than 80 yards last season, including an 86-yarder that was the longest punt in college football. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Some national NFL Draft analysts with NFL information have openly stated that he might be selected on Day 2. https://t.co/mIr2tYt8LT. Copyright 2019-2023. Although he was the top punting prospect in the draft, Araiza ended up being the third punter selected. The prolific punter also showcased his versatility as a powerful placekicker, hitting 77% of his 48 attempts with a career long of 53 yards. 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. DATABASE. An all-around special teams contributor, the 2021 unanimous All-American had kickoff duties for San Diego State. The Bills may not have known about the allegations hanging over punter Matt Araiza when they . Youll see here part of what makes Araiza so special. Im tougher, stronger, more athletic than Odafe Oweh. 2022 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Matt Araiza. Matt Araiza Overview. But, thats not all Araiza can do. Pro football is a game of land acquisition, played four downs at a time. It is not a good look for a franchise that prides itself on culture and character. Former Saints punter Thomas Morstead recently explained to the Athletic why that's a concern. Between high school punting and a love of soccer, he developed a powerful leg that has been comfortably the most powerful in college football this last season. Araiza leads the punter predictions for this 2022 NFL Draft. At the very least, remember the name Matt Araiza and the punt god designation following him. Jordan Davis combines size and athleticism. Tracker; Grades; Spending; Tenders; Draft. School: San Diego State. The big-footed San Diego native is considered one of the best prospects in his position over the years and many are eager to see . 12.0Matt Araiza, SDSU (48 Punts)Inside 20 63%Inside 10 27%Touchback 29%Avg. Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux will feature as top picks later this month. In the first of these predictions pieces, Matt Araiza leads a cast of at least three punters selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. Showcasing an exceptionally powerful leg, he holds the Penn State field-goal record with a 57-yard strike against Pitt in 2019. Of course, Ray Guys first-round selection in 1973 is an anomaly. 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. . Bills get the Punt God in the SIXTH ROUND. His season average of 51.19 yards set a new single-season record. As mentioned before, Araiza is incredibly versatile and can help the special teams unit in an impactful way. As a junior, Araiza would be eligible for the NFL Draft in both 2022 and 2023. Two NFL teams had Matt Araiza red flags before draft. Now, he is one of the rarest prospects in football: a punter with buzz. FanSided.com; . 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. That is an incredibly high projection for a special teams player, as punters and kicker often . and that Bill Belichick is already salivating over using a second-round pick on him in the 2022 NFL Draft. After the horrendous playoff performance, the Packers . Although on-field punter drills werent televised, onlookers inside Lucas Oil Stadium reported that Araiza was impressive during those sessions at the NFL Combine. Where most people have legs attached to their torso, Araiza has an actual cannon. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. The only question now is whether the franchise that selects him is stocked up on enough XXXXXXXXL gear. Daniel Faalele after Minnesotas win over Colorado in September. However, he set a new single-season program record for field goals with 22. Safely draftable and carrying middle-round grades in the league.. 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. With his record-breaking antics and social media ascension to Punt God, San Diego State punter Matt Araiza is making special teams sexy again. The Buffalo Bills released rookie punter Matt Araiza on Saturday night. For starters, college football allows for any player to go downfield after the snap on a punt. A fifth-round selection for Araiza would not be particularly noteworthy in the history of punters taken in the NFL draft. The San Diego State punter was better than Camarda in almost every metric last season. It can bail out a sloppy offensive possession by turning it into a healthy defensive position. This is the most yards per punt a player has ever averaged in a single NCAA season, illustrating his sheer dominance. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Simply put, Araiza is the best punting prospect to enter the NFL Draft in quite some time. If youre sitting comfortably, lets begin. Teams worried about Davis role on third down should instead be focused on how he can tip the scales in their favor on the most important down of all. In our heart of hearts, I can lay my head down at night knowing that Ive tried to do whats right., The best insights from the ultimate insiders, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, accused of being involved in the gang rape of a 17-year-old, the Bills also ignored his warnings about Araiza, Josh Allen and girlfriend Brittany Williams kiss during offseason getaway, Bills GM provides Damar Hamlin update regarding potential comeback, Bills coordinator abruptly leaves team during critical time, The favorite to win NFLs Comeback Player of the Year may surprise you, Giants QB carted off after big hit by Jets lineman, Daniel Jones needs to see big picture in Giants negotiations, Red-hot Jon Rahm no match for wind-swept Bay Hill: 'F--king hard', The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast, The Show with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman, Amazin' But True: A NY Mets Baseball Podcast, Gangs All Here: A NY Jets Football Podcast, Tom Sandoval breaks silence on Ariana Madix split amid cheating claims, Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave. He reportedly said, "Bills Mafia, there is no off-season.". Let them know that we sent you! A team will take the bet that Faalele can, probably in the first round. One other theory is that teams are afraid Araiza might outkick his coverage in the NFL. Davis was the force behind college footballs most dominant defense last season, fueling a Georgia group that carried their team to the national championship. The NFL only allows the two end defenders to do so. Both are a long shot to be drafted at the end of the month. No other punter has nailed two 80+ yard punts in 2021. Round 5 - Philadelphia Eagles (No. Based on net punting averages, you can usually find UDFAs who will rank above average at the position in directional punting and hang time.. Field Pos. San Diego State P Matt Araiza. Meet Matt Araiza, San Diego State punter who could be among the highest-drafted punters of all time, NFL Draft prospects 2022: Updated big board of top 150 players, rankings by position. 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. Araiza may be the greatest college punter of all time. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. 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. The rest of the league has moved to embrace the off-script creators, players who can go and get a bucket all by themselves with their arms or legs when the offensive structure breaks down.
