Punter Matt Araiza

[BoomerFan]

It is hard not to at least be intrigued by a guy who punted for 87 yards in the air. I think he'll be there at the end of the 5th.

I wonder if he could maybe try to angle his punts out of bounds more? Then you don't have to worry about getting the coverage team so far downfield. Or if you are closer to the endzone it might help to avoid touchbacks.

[Emeritus]

This guy is special!

[ElkValleyBengal]

For those concerned about the altitude skewing Araiza's stats, his 3 highest gross average games were at home (San Diego). He had one game (also at home) where he grossed under 40 for the game, but 5 of his 6 punts that game were inside the 20 results. Outside that game, his lowest gross average was 46.7 in the Frisco Bowl, where 1 of his 3 punts was inside the 20.

[Weazzel80]

I like Jordan Stout more. He has a good leg too and is great with hang time and kicking the ball within the 20 to avoiding touchbacks.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/jordan-stout/32005354-4f72-7243-90d9-b44242223591

Bengals are taking him in the 4th, calling it now. I think he is a clean prospect like McPhersson

[EatonFan]

He'll go in the 4th. Bank it.

[CoachGeorge]

Brady Balhorn noted special teams scout:


P1: Jeremy Stout
67 punts: 46.0 yards per punt, 35 inside-20, 3 touchbacks, 30 fair catches (44.8%)

He gets great hang time on his kicks, and is one of the most accurate punters in the nation, easily commanding spin and offering plus traits as a directional kicker.

He also forced fair catches on 45% of his kicks, which was near the top in the nation.

P2: Matt Araiza
79 punts: 51.2 yards per punt, 37 inside-20, 15 touchbacks, 17 fair catches (21.5%)

“ Araiza has the biggest leg in the draft, there’s no doubt about that”

“but he still needs a lot of work on his accuracy”

“his propensity to outkick his coverage and ridiculous number of touchbacks make it hard for a team to take him on as a rookie.”

“he really needs to convert some of his power into extra hang time and work on controlling his spin off his kicks.”

I personally think Stout is a far better locker room guy than Araiza.

[Hammerstripes]

(03-29-2022, 10:29 AM)ochocincos Wrote: Russell Erxleben was drafted 11th overall back in 1979.

In "recent" years, I believe it was Todd Sauerbrun in 1995, who went 56th overall.

In the past 10 years, the highest punter drafted was Bryan Anger in 2012, who went 70th overall.

He was also the placekicker.  

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(04-06-2022, 03:57 PM)CoachGeorge Wrote: Brady Balhorn noted special teams scout:


P1: Jeremy Stout
67 punts: 46.0 yards per punt, 35 inside-20, 3 touchbacks, 30 fair catches (44.8%)

He gets great hang time on his kicks, and is one of the most accurate punters in the nation, easily commanding spin and offering plus traits as a directional kicker.

He also forced fair catches on 45% of his kicks, which was near the top in the nation.

P2: Matt Araiza
79 punts: 51.2 yards per punt, 37 inside-20, 15 touchbacks, 17 fair catches (21.5%)

“ Araiza has the biggest leg in the draft, there’s no doubt about that”

“but he still needs a lot of work on his accuracy”

“his propensity to outkick his coverage and ridiculous number of touchbacks make it hard for a team to take him on as a rookie.”

“he really needs to convert some of his power into extra hang time and work on controlling his spin off his kicks.”

I personally think Stout is a far better locker room guy than Araiza.

Based upon?

[Emeritus]

(03-29-2022, 07:06 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: https://www.footballdb.com/players/matt-araiza-araiz0002

46.8% of his punts in 2021 were inside the 20

Best kicking duo in the league if they take him in a few weeks.
https://youtube.com/shorts/mVrKJGhbKas?feature=share

[Emeritus]

(03-15-2022, 02:55 AM)Yogo Wrote: Okay okay!!!  We'll leave the fifth round pick for Araiza, but package 4th, 6th, and 7th to move up and draft some quality, okay?

Yay take me to McDonalds

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

First punt in the NFL? From their own 18, touchback. Net 62 yard punt.

[ElkValleyBengal]

Turns out that was his only punt of the game, and it was roughly 67 yards in the air (77 if you count the spot where he actually punted). I know it's one punt and all, but he displayed leg strength in droves while in college. Not sure if it was something personal with him, but it's hard to believe even in retrospect he was the third punter drafted. If it was his hang time that was a concern, rumor has it there are special teams coaches on every team.

[*ochocincos*]

(08-16-2022, 09:31 PM)ElkValleyBengal Wrote: Turns out that was his only punt of the game, and it was roughly 67 yards in the air (77 if you count the spot where he actually punted).  I know it's one punt and all, but he displayed leg strength in droves while in college.  Not sure if it was something personal with him, but it's hard to believe even in retrospect he was the third punter drafted.  If it was his hang time that was a concern, rumor has it there are special teams coaches on every team.

Good for Araiza, but is this supposed to imply that Araiza was undervalued and should have been drafted earlier?
He has a big leg, sure. And he's a fantastic punter.
But the reality is most teams prioritize offensive or defensive contribution over K/P.
Very few K's and P's get drafted at all, so he should be pretty stoked to even get drafted given his position.
He can make an impact on his rookie contract and look to cash in (for a punter) with his next contract.

[ElkValleyBengal]

(08-18-2022, 03:31 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Good for Araiza, but is this supposed to imply that Araiza was undervalued and should have been drafted earlier?
He has a big leg, sure. And he's a fantastic punter.
But the reality is most teams prioritize offensive or defensive contribution over K/P.
Very few K's and P's get drafted at all, so he should be pretty stoked to even get drafted given his position.
He can make an impact on his rookie contract and look to cash in (for a punter) with his next contract.

I believe we witnessed a year ago what a special kicker can do for a team.  Who knows if Araiza will have sustained success, but he does have a special leg.  Imagine the scenario in that preseason game being played out late in the season or in the playoffs late in the game.  The advantage to have the ability to flip field position that drastically is hard to overstate.

[*ochocincos*]

(08-18-2022, 07:14 PM)ElkValleyBengal Wrote: I believe we witnessed a year ago what a special kicker can do for a team.  Who knows if Araiza will have sustained success, but he does have a special leg.  Imagine the scenario in that preseason game being played out late in the season or in the playoffs late in the game.  The advantage to have the ability to flip field position that drastically is hard to overstate.

A kicker is different from a punter, no?

I get that a really good punt can help, but I'm just not sure how many more wins it would really translate to.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(08-18-2022, 03:31 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Good for Araiza, but is this supposed to imply that Araiza was undervalued and should have been drafted earlier?
He has a big leg, sure. And he's a fantastic punter.
But the reality is most teams prioritize offensive or defensive contribution over K/P.
Very few K's and P's get drafted at all, so he should be pretty stoked to even get drafted given his position.
He can make an impact on his rookie contract and look to cash in (for a punter) with his next contract.

The Bengals 5th round pick is currently listed as a 4th stringer on the depth chart despite trading up for him. (The previous 4 picks are all listed as 2nd string, so we can avoid the "rookies are placed low" angle.)

I'll take a starting punter over a 4th string safety. Or even a 3rd string safety, if you don't include Bates in the depth chart right now.

Just a shame to see a roster weakness, that could have been turned into a strength, ignored.

[*ochocincos*]

(08-21-2022, 07:32 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: The Bengals 5th round pick is currently listed as a 4th stringer on the depth chart despite trading up for him. (The previous 4 picks are all listed as 2nd string, so we can avoid the "rookies are placed low" angle.)

I'll take a starting punter over a 4th string safety. Or even a 3rd string safety, if you don't include Bates in the depth chart right now.

Just a shame to see a roster weakness, that could have been turned into a strength, ignored.

I haven't heard that both Chrisman and Huber are performing poorly.
I've heard Chrisman is actually doing rather well actually.

Have you heard otherwise?
If so, please share.

EDIT - Would I have taken Araiza over Tycen Anderson? Yes. I didn't even know who Anderson was when he was drafted. And I look at a lot of prospects. I agree that if it comes down to a back-end depth O/D player in Rds 5-7 over an upgrade at K or P, I'd take the K or P. But if looking at Rd 4, Volson might end up being the starting LG, which can easily be argued as being more important than taking a punter.

[QueenCity]

Imagine needing to punt on the 20 yard line and being able to completely flip the field. I understand there is more to punting than just killing it 80 yards but it can have a real impact on the game.

The Bills got a weapon not only will they put up 30+ a game but the opposing team will need to drive 80+ yards to score. Now that's valuable.

[*bfine32*]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/bills-p-matt-araiza-2-san-diego-state-teammates-accused-of-gang-rape-in-lawsuit-223612033.html

Quote:Bills rookie Matt Araiza found prominence rarely seen for a punter in college football. Now he's being accused of taking part in a gang rape while at San Diego State.
Matt Araiza, the Buffalo Bills punter who came to prominence in college football as the "Punt God" last season, has been accused of participating in a gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in a civil lawsuit,

Maybe best we didn't take him

[*ochocincos*]

(08-25-2022, 09:31 PM)bfine32 Wrote: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/bills-p-matt-araiza-2-san-diego-state-teammates-accused-of-gang-rape-in-lawsuit-223612033.html


Maybe best we didn't take him

Maybe the Bills will give up a late pick for Drue Chrisman or Kevin Huber.