As a matter of fact, let's stop for a second to watch this 70-yard punt that he boomed against the Bears on Thanksgiving last season. Robinson was reportedly ousted from West Virginia over the summer and still hasnt found a home for this upcoming fall. Whenever there's a conversation about the best punters in the NFL, Johnny Hekker's name almost always comes up, which makes sense, because he's one of the best punters in the NFL. It's not difficult to get overshadowed by Wagner, but Wright is still one of the better linebackers in the league in his own right. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a punter, the Chiefs gave us an inside look this season when they mic'd up their punter for a game. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. Thats the type of rare prospect he is despite not fitting the prototype size-wise (6-foot-1, 192 pounds). Butker actually hit two different 58-yard field goals in that game, making him one of only two kickers in NFL history to hit multiple kicks from 58 yards or longer in a game. The Raiders like Carlson so much that they gave the restricted free agent a second-round tender, which is a high tender for a kicker (The tender means a team would have had to give the Raiders a second-round pick to steal Carlson away this offseason). Johnson is a bigger linebacker by today's NFL standards at nearly 250 pounds, and he used that size to his advantage in the run game where he posted a 91.4 run-defense grade for the season. The Raiders punter also dropped 43.8% of his punts inside the opponents 20-yard line, which was the sixth-best percentage in the NFL last season. After only playing eight games with the Falcons in 2019, Koo returned in 2020 and made his case to be the team's long-term kicker and he made a pretty solid case. Punting is an art form, so let's find out who the best artists are. When a punter is pinning teams deep, he'll sometimes have to give up some of his strength for finesse, but not Dickson, who was regularly booming punts in Seattle. Humphries (88.3), Highest-Graded Player: OG Shaq Mason (85.4), Highest-Graded Player: WR Julio Jones (86.3), Highest-Graded Player: TE Darren Waller (86.4), Super Bowl Win Probability: 1% PFF's expert rankers can include their opinions on a player's season long fantasy prospects, which can consider more extreme outcomes and a certain amount of subjectivity. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. He's consistently one of the better tackling linebackers in the league missing just 6% of his tackles over the past five seasons and he's been about as steady as they come in run defense with run-defense grades between 68.4 and 78.3 in all eight of his NFL seasons. Provinces with the most coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Italy February 2023. Davis has elite size and length combined with above average burst for the position. The Lions punter hit seven touchbacks last season, which was tied for the most in the NFL. Moses is still a work in progress one-on-one in coverage, but he can play in space as well as any linebacker in the country. Hekker averaged just 39.2 net yards per punt, which ranked an ugly 24th in the NFL. After booming his way to the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2018, Dickson has somehow only gotten better. That may have to be the case again with three new (young) starters at cornerback. WOW.Jason Myers just nails this FG from SIXTY ONE YARDS for the @Seahawks! The 36-year-old kicker went a perfect 16 of 16 on field goals, making him one of just five kickers in NFL history to hit 100% of their field goals in a season where they attempted 15 or more kicks. section: | slug: ranking-the-top-10-nfl-kickers-and-top-10-punters-heading-into-the-2021-regular-season | sport: football | route: article_single.us | Listed at 6-foot-4, Wright is a longer linebacker who can cause problems in coverage for opposing offenses in Seattle's zone defense. It's not easy punting in New England and it's not easy punting for a perfectionist like Bill Belichick, but Bailey has managed to make things work for three seasons. No one's more clutch than Tucker and he proved that last season when he hit a 55-yarder as time expired to beat the Browns in a wild Monday night game played in Week 14. You could argue that the Jaguars best player over the past two years has been their punter, which is likely one reason why Jacksonville signed Cooke to a four-year, $12 million extension this offseason. His bad play down the stretch gets a tad overblown because it came on the biggest stage, but wed still like to see those issues not show up in 2019. When kicking near the end zone, some are asked to attempt a coffin corner kick while others will pooch the ball high into the air hoping it sits inside the 10. He's earned this top spot with strong, well-rounded play throughout his career. Hes already adept at eating double teams and has a toolbox of pass-rushing moves that is on par with any other defensive tackle in the country. The rankings are based on PFF ELO Ratings. While he only played center in his lone year starting at Oklahoma, Humphrey has all the skills to play any interior position at the next level. Trevathan is another player coming off a career-low overall grade in 2019 (61.9), but his track record gives him the benefit of the doubt and keeps him as one of the top 25 linebackers in the NFL heading into the 2020 season. For one, he made EVERY SINGLE FIELD GOAL HE ATTEMPTED (24 of 24), which makes him one of only three kickers in NFL history to attempt 20 or more field goals in a season and make all of them (Mike Vanderjagt and Gary Anderson are the others). His 92.1 coverage grade since getting drafted in 2016 trails only Kuechly and David among qualifying linebackers, and despite missing much of the 2018 season, Jones' 26 forced incompletions are tied for second-most at the position over that four-year stretch. Townsend was so good at placing his punts that returners only averaged four yards per return against the Chiefs last season, giving Kansas City one of the best coverage units in the NFL in 2021. That means a lot of the ordering particularly later on comes down to preference on the type of linebacker that you're looking for. Gilman is a perfect box or split field safety with the way he comes downhill on routes. Of course, he also shined some areas and one of those areas was pinning the opponent inside their 20. In just his second year with the 49ers, Wishnowsky showed why he was worth a fourth-round pick back in 2019. The Chiefs kicker showed off his booming leg in February when he became the first kicker in NFL history to hit multiple field goals of 49 yards or more in a Super Bowl. Cunningham played more man-coverage snaps than any other linebacker last season (239), and players like Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey and Mark Andrews were able to produce several big plays against Cunningham in man coverage. The most explosive running back in the nation, Etienne is a big play waiting to happen. Perhaps with Kuechly out of the picture, this is the year that David gets his well-earned recognition. 1. Okwuegbunam has speed to get up the seams and body control to be a red-zone threat. Highest-Graded Player: QB Josh Allen (90.9), Super Bowl Win Probability: 5% During the 2021 season, Way averaged a booming 48.3 yards per punt, which ranked fifth in the NFL. Only the top two to three percent of analysts are on the team of "senior analysts" in charge of finalizing each grade after review. He comes in as the second most valuable linebacker, per PFF WAR, over that eight-year stretch, as well. Hes broken 18 tackles on 94 career catches. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. Bryan Anger's punt hit the jumbotron : #SFvsDAL on CBS/NICK/Prime Video: NFL app pic.twitter.com/v6QcauOWfx. His blend of size, length and athleticism is rare at the position. Back in 2018, nearly everyone in Pittsburgh wanted to see the Steelers release Boswell after a disastrous season where he hit just 65% of his kicks. Brown has prodigious strength that is his calling card. Of his 51 punts in 2021, only nine of them were returned, and his 17.6% return rate was by far the lowest return percentage for any full-time punter in the NFL last season. If you need proof of just how big of a weapon he was for the Cowboys last year, just look at their Week 15 game against the Giants. 1 and then go from there (Although Tucker's grip on the top spot isn't as firm as it used to be). Anger was so good in 2021 that he ended up being voted a second-team All-Pro. Also, no one was better at pinning in punt returners than Koch. 2020 NFL roster rankings for all 32 teams, Ranking all 32 starting quarterbacks Monson, Ranking all 32 starting quarterbacks Palazzolo, The NFL's top 25 interior offensive linemen, The NFL's top 25 interior defensive linemen, NFL offensive line rankings: All 32 units, NFL defensive line rankings: All 32 units. Of his 51 punts, only one went for a touchback, which was the lowest number of any full-time punter. Over the past three years, no punter has placedmore balls inside the 10-yard line than Dickson, who has done it 41 times since 2018. Whenever there's a conversation about the best punters in the NFL, Johnny Hekker's name almost always comes up, which makes sense, because he's one of the best punters in the NFL. Now that Kuechly has retired, it's Wagner's crown to take. He controls offensive linemen with ease snap after snap. If he gets back to that level as a run defender in the middle of Jacksonville's defense and maintains his play in coverage, he'll push himself closer to the top tier of NFL linebackers. Arjun Menon and Brad Spielberger (PFF) Landing spots for PFF's top 50 free agents . TOMMY TOWNSEND HAS A CANNON. Enjoy! Littleton does do two things at an elite level, though cover and tackle. So are La Scala, Italy's premier opera house, and the city's universities and schools. Thanks to his perfect performance in 2020, Crosby has now hit 90% or more of his field goals in two straight seasons (Before 2019, Crosby had never hit the 90% mark in his career). 4. He also comes downhill as a blitzer like hes shot out of a cannon. He also missed just six tackles compared to 117 total tackles made, his 28 pressures ranked third among linebackers and his 32 run stops were tied for sixth at the position. He's also pinned the opponent inside their own five-yard line more times (15) than any other punter over that span. Mutis redshirt freshman season at guard was a pleasure to watch as he tossed around defenders left and right. His body control at the catch point is also elite as he makes difficult catches look commonplace. Highest-Graded Player: OG Wyatt Teller (92.9), Highest-Graded Player: OT Trent Williams (91.9), Highest-Graded Player: CB Xavien Howard (87.3), Highest-Graded Player: OT D.J. The linebacker position has been somewhat diminished in recent seasons as nickel and dime defenses have become base, but there is still a group of guys at the top that you want on the field every play as a defense. Leaders based on 2.5 punts per team game. You name it, Young has it. Size, length, athleticism and production. Note: Free agent punters weren't considered for this list since there's no guarantee they'll be playing in the NFL this year. Highest-Graded Player: Edge Chase Young (87.2), Highest-Graded Player: OT Taylor Moton (81.2), Highest-Graded Player: WR Justin Jefferson (90.4), Highest-Graded Player: OG Zack Martin (91.3), Highest-Graded Player: OT Garett Bolles (90.3), Highest-Graded Player: DI Leonard Williams (79.8), Highest-Graded Player: Edge Joey Bosa (90.2), Highest-Graded Player: S Jessie Bates III (90.1), Highest-Graded Player: QB Deshaun Watson (92.5), Highest-Graded Player: Edge Brandon Graham (81.5), Highest-Graded Player: S Marcus Maye (82.8), Highest-Graded Player: QB Matt Stafford (82.0), Highest-Graded Player: C Brandon Linder (80.0). He picked up overall grades of 65.0 or higher in each of the first eight seasons of his career, but that streak came to an end this past season. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Now, if he can just fix his drop problem that saw him muff 10 a season ago. His lack of high-end traits and dominant play, however, are concerning. Shenault is a weapon in the open field. Myers might not be ranked at the top of his list, but he was arguably the best kicker in the NFL last year. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, at Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL and NCAA player performance data. Hes damn near unblockable one-on-one in the run game but has yet to earn a pass-rushing grade above 70.0 for a season. Leonard is also a sure tackler, having missed just 5.6% of his tackles over the past two seasons (seventh-best at linebacker). He has the explosiveness. Collins will be one of several former Patriots defenders looking for success in his first season in Detroit. A big reason why he had such a high net average is because he excelled at forcing his opponent to call for a fair catch. Over that same two-year stretch, the 37.9 coverage grade for Raiders' linebackers collectively came out ahead of only the Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants. Huge. Townsend had just 37 punts in 2021, which didn't meet the minimum requirement to be listed on the NFL's leader board for best punting average, but if he had been there, he would have ranked second in the league. 8:19 am ET, signed him to a five-year, $22 million extension, as the second-longest overtime field goal, more balls inside the 10-yard line than Dickson, they gave him a four-year, $16 million extension this offseason, Agent's Take: Rodgers' trade value, logistics, best fit, McCarthy discusses taking over Cowboys' play-calling, Brett Favre welfare funds scandal explained, Reich says Carr 'checks a lot of boxes' after meeting, Mock: Carter falls amid warrant, Ravens take QB, Rodgers' trade value, logistics and best fit, Best team fits for top FAs at each position, Ex-NFL GM on ramifications of Carter's legal issue, NFLPA issues team report cards: Commanders fail, 49ers GM says he contacted Brady as team seeks QB help, Jalen Carter issues statement amid charges. The Patriots punter regularly got off booming punts, which includes the 60-yarder you see below. When Lutz catches fire, he gets in a groove that few other kickers can match. For as good as the Cowboys' linebacker duo of Leighton Vander Esch and Smith were in 2018, last season had to come as somewhat of a disappointment. In 2018, not only did the lead the league in punts inside the 20, but he was also the only full-time punter in the NFL who didn't kick a touchback. Since his rookie year in 2012, Hekker has been an absolute weapon and during the early part of his career (2012-16), he was arguably the only weapon (This was back when he played for the Rams while they were still in St. Louis). It's not easy punting in New England and it's not easy punting for a perfectionist like Bill Belichick, but Bailey made both of those things look easy during a 2020 season where he was voted to the Pro Bowl and named the first-team All-Pro punter. The Jaguars took Anger at 70th overall and then the Seahawks took Wilson just five picks later. He was as sound as any safety in the country last season. 6 USC, 13 at Oregon State, 12 against No. One game that was truly indicative of Bailey's season came in Week 13. Thompson already looks the part of an NFL linebacker. 49ers Kicker Mitch Wishnowsky said NO (via @49ers)pic.twitter.com/fJgAacq8jY. Pro Football Focus graded former West Virginia Mountaineers and Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee as NFL's highest-graded punter of the decade at 95.3, nearly three . In 2020 the Broncos allowed 8.1 yards per punt return and that value was down to 6.4 in 2021 (which was third best in the league - only the Bills at 5.6, and the Chiefs at 4.9 allowed fewer. Highest-Graded Player: RB Derrick Henry (92.4), Super Bowl Win Probability: 2% At least, I think that's why we saved this one for last. During a Week 7 win over the Bears, Hekker put five punts inside of Chicago's 10-yard line. Dallas will be hoping both Smith and Vander Esch get back to 2018 form next season. If you watched the Texans play last season, you may have noticed that they had one of the worst offenses in the NFL and because of that, Johnston saw A LOT of action. While his overall grade had hovered in the 60s from 2016 to 2018, it came in at 90.1 in 2019 (second at the position). It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. It will be interesting to see how he fares without the Hall of Fame-bound Kuechly in the middle of that defense. Cole, who definitely had the most impressive punting season in the NFL last year. Townsend averaged 43.8 net yard per punt last season, which ranked behind only Bryan Anger. For the past few weeks here at CBSSports.com, we've been ranking every position group in the NFL, and now, we've saved the most important position for last: Punters. Simmons is on another level athletically from linebackers across the country. Nathan is the lead fantasy analyst for PFF. If Sanders does have one weakness, it's kicking extra points. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. The Titans punter put 59.5% of his punts (22 of 37) inside the opponents 20, which is an insane number when you consider that only two other full-time punters even hit the 50% mark. For one, he averaged 50 yards per punt, which is the eight-highest single-season total in NFL history. During the 2020 season, the 49ers punter put 32 punts inside the 20, which was more than any other punter in the NFL. As a sophomore, Woodward was one of the most productive linebackers in the country. They can win as run defenders, pass-rushers and coverage defenders. May 16, 2020 1:01 PM EDT. His 83.6 coverage grade over the past two seasons is a top-10 mark at the position, while his 46.8 run-defense grade over that same time frame comes in as one of the worst marks among linebackers. Although he struggled on extra points in 2020 -- he hit just 89.5% -- he's only one year removed from a 2019 season where he made them all. Mason Crosby drills a 58-yard FG to put the @packers up 10. Koo finished the year with 144 points scored, which was tied with Daniel Carlson and Jason Sanders for the most in the NFL. His 80.4 coverage grade across those the 2017 and 2018 campaigns ranked ninth among 59 linebackers who saw 500 or more coverage snaps, coming alongside solid play against the run. Oh and because he grew up playing Australian rules football, he also likes to tackle. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. Jack is a good candidate to bounce back next season with Schobert coming in to take middle linebacker duties next to him. That 7.3 return number was the lowest in the league for any team that had to cover 30 or more punt returns. Over the course of his career, he's made 90.7% of his kicks, which makes him the most accurate kicker in NFL history. The 2020 first-team All-Big Ten selection had 20 punts inside the 20-yard line, ranking second in the Big Ten punters in 2020. Hes one of the toughest receivers to jam at the line of scrimmage in the country. His 72.6 coverage grade ranked 15th among 91 qualifying linebackers on the season. Fox went undrafted in 2019 and although he would eventually sign with the Chiefs, he got cut before the 2019 season started, which means he was basically sitting at home when the Lions finally decided to take a gamble on him heading into the 2020 season. Although his stats were slightly down in 2021, his track record suggests that he should bounce back big time in 2022. Hes got smooth hips and is an above average athlete for the position, but he still needs to fill out his frame quite a bit. Hes got an ideal guard build with power throughout his frame. Oh, and his 90.3 overall grade led the way at the position. NFL 2022 Regular Season Punting Entire League 25 It hasn't taken long for Leonard to become a focal point of the Colts defense under defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. McKinney has picked up PFF coverage grades of 70.0 or higher in three of the past five seasons.
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