Pro Football Network, LLC. Most punters dont achieve that distance in a career. 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. Bill Belichick has a notable fixation on left-footed kickers. 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. Several other three-round mock drafts have slotted Thomas from the first round to not listed. It isnt much of a challenge anymore. Did the talent-poor Falcons get the roster infusion they needed? It was a special team, and a special group I got to be a part of. Big, big leg. Wingspan 73 1/8 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. Maybe some preferred right-footed kickers over guys like Araiza, a Rancho Bernardo High alum who is left-footed. 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. Araiza may be the greatest college punter of all time. Georgias Dominant Title Defense and a Curtain Call for the Ages, The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 1 Instant Reactions. All the more impressive, the 2021 season was Araiza's first taking on full-time punting duties for the Aztecs. 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. By submitting your email, you agree to our. Coach Marwan Maalouf, currently coaching special teams at the University of Miami and longtime NFL special teams coach, thinks highly of Araiza. San Diego State ranks seventh in overall special teams FEI, which takes into account all aspects of special teams. You won't want to miss a moment of the 2022 season! 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. 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. We were all kind of surprised. Before that, the last one came in 2013. Freshman year of high school. He is exceptional on fourth down, averaging 51.2 yards per punt in his most recent season. And, I was the only sophomore on the team at that time. If I can get my punter as an UDFA instead of using a draft selection on him, that would be preferable.. I know the type of season I put on. In 2015, he broke the San Diego sectional record for field goals in a single season, Rancho Bernardo won a state championship, and he was named to the MaxPreps sophomore All-American team. See college football stories in your feed, Araiza set a new all-time Football Bowl Subdivision record for yards per punt averaging 51.19 yards per punt, passing Texas A&M. Few could have seen this meteoric rise to success. The crash took place before 3 a.m. on Jan. 15., just hours after the Bulldogs . In the latest CBS Sports mock draft published this week, Ryan Wilson has the Chargers drafting Thomas with the 20th pick in the first round. Will Malik Willis develop into a high-end QB for the Titans? San Diego State punter Matt Araiza has a leg that can boot the football 80 yards. Plus, Nadine Smith on the Agendas Behind Wrestling Documentaries. Personally, I would not draft a punter, regardless of how good he is, until the 7th-round the 6th-round at the earliest. I grew up playing three on three on this tiny indoor field, and thats kind of where my love for soccer and sports started. This punter would make the average opponent worse than the 2021 Jets, who score on 22.1 percent of their drives. Matt Araiza is a certifiable weapon. Something I hadnt really told anyone yet is if my professional football career ends and I still have a bit of gas in the tank, Im going to go out and try to play semi-pro soccer somewhere. 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. His 32 vertical jump was the same as Chris Olave, our 15th-highest-ranked prospect. Not only did Matt Araiza launch a punt, but he also made the tackle (via @CBSSportsNet) #ForTheBrand | @PatMcAfeeShow pic.twitter.com/r1BvgmKKjS. But that's only half-true: Araiza is also statistically the most talented punter prospect of all time. 180 overall pick in the sixth round on Saturday. One of the most exciting prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft is San Diego State University's Matt Araiza. For his career, Araiza averaged 51.1 yards per punt. Araiza had a 6.09 Prospect Grade on NFL.com, compared to 5.99 for Stout and 5.85 for Camarda. All four players have the talent to compete and excel at the next level. So, earning their respect and earning their trust, and becoming a part of that team was a big accomplishment for me. Banners rationale is driven by the notion of replacement value. Araiza is a punter by positional designation only - he also kicks field goals and takes San Diego State's kickoffs. The more you can do to justify a roster spot is the motto of the NFL, said Brugler, adding that teams may feel more comfortable drafting a punter in the fourth or fifth round if they know the punter also has a penchant for touchbacks on kickoffs. Hes averaging 54.0 yards per punt, which would smash the NCAA and NFL records51.0 in college and 51.4 in the NFL, the latter set by Slingin Sammy Baugh in 1940. He spends the evenings with his award-winning legs cast in a recovery boot. I dont think Ive ever seen a ball travel like that before.. In his Mock Draft 1.0 released on November 30, 2021, Brugler slotted Thomas to the Dallas Cowboys with the 25th pick of the first round, adding, Thomas has been nearly unblockable this season for the Aztecs, currently leading college football with 72 pressures.. San Diego State punter Matt Araiza is no ordinary prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft. Araiza could have pursued soccer as a career. This is a statement of fact rather than a prediction. Theyre rooting for wins; Im happiest when the offense goes three-and-out at its own 8-yard line so Araiza has maximum space to punt. The Mandalorian Season 3 Premiere Is a Slick Reminder of What Makes Mando Work, What We Learned From Testing, and a Bahrain GP Preview. I want my life to be an adventure, Araiza said. Cornerback Tayler Hawkins accepted an invite to the Hula Bowl, which takes place on January 15 in Orlando, FL. 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! But Araiza described them to me as not being fun or real football. As a result, he stayed close to home, a decision that has meant more to him than he ever knew. They are drafting you based on what they think you will do.. . The San Diego, California native has a career kicking percentage of over 73% as the Aztecs kicker. By Ted McGovern The Buffalo Bills tweeted out the announcement with a picture of Araiza wearing his red and black Aztecs jersey with now-familiar No. February 28, 2023 6:16 pm SI NFL Draft Bible. The draft was held May 3-4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, New York. Is Araiza the Punter That Was Promised? And remember, the Big Punt wasnt even Araizas longest punt of the year. As Matt Araiza prepares to break positional norms in the 2022 NFL Draft class, his talents as a punter can be traced back to his roots at Rancho Bernardo High in San Diego. The NCAA record holder is extremely familiar with breaking records. At the end of Araizas senior season at Rancho Bernardo, he hadnt gotten any scholarship offers, and was still considering soccer as a pathway to his future. Which teams knocked it out of the park? Ten years from now well know the truth. These traits make for an incredibly impressive athlete, but how would he test at the NFL Combine? Highest Punter Ever Drafted Russell Erxleben was drafted No. In the NFL, only two players can release, so additional time to get downfield is significant. Pat McAfee later called the Big Punt a Piss Missile, which is just about the highest honor a punter can receive. Though the Bills are hardly known for punting, on the rare occasions they do, Araiza will be expected to tip the field and also be a weapon on kickoffs (he had 62 touchbacks in 73 kickoffs). Nonetheless, the "Punt God" is headed to the AFC East champions. Reacting to the pick, NFL Network broadcaster Rich Eisen said: Let me tell you something, Buffalo Bills fans, you should be very, very happy. Hand size 9 1/2 , given to the best punter in college football. The relationship is not close to being statistically significant here, and the R-squared value is almost negligible. Chad Reuter ranks his favorite picks in each round. Although Araiza saw plenty of action at San Diego State, he might not see the field much in Buffalo. (Derrick Tuskan / San Diego State Athletics), Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, College baseball wrapup: USD right-hander James Sashin reaping rewards for persistence and hard work, Aztecs QB Jalen Mayden gets full offseason to grow in starting role, College baseball weekend: Tony Gwynn Legacy event a reminder of Hall of Famers legendary life, Aztecs looking for feedback from football season-ticket holders, Aztecs announce executive staff hire at transformative moment for schools athletic department, Aztecs begin offseason drills with a spring in their step, No. The Big Punt traveled more than 80. 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. I knew with punting, I was only a couple of adjustments away from what I did this last year. That was somewhat of a goal. A kicker or punter has never finished in the top 10 of Heisman Trophy voting, but thats just because they fashioned the statue after a guy running instead of a guy punting. The San Diego, California native has a. as the Aztecs kicker. Georgia punter Jake Camarda was taken three picks later by Tampa Bay. The signing bonus in that spot last year was $240,152. If Im punting five to seven times per game and the disparity in average yards is just a few, this doesnt translate to that significant of a difference overall. With the 2022 NFL Draft in the books, Adam Schein breaks down what he loved and loathed from the league's Vegas venture. 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Brugler predicts Bellinger will be the second San Diego State player drafted (after Cameron Thomas). #Bills #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/EA1iEWkdyA. Ray Guy, for whom a college football award is named, was a first-round pick in 1973. The selection of Araiza gave SDSU four players in the 2022 NFL Draft. Soccer was, for sure, the first sport I wanted to play professionally. You can go as far as your work ethic can take you. So, I think that was probably when I knew I had a shot.. Matt Araiza had two punts of more than 80 yards last season, including an 86-yarder that was the longest punt in college football.He might be able to punt a football from San Diego to Buffalo. Ray Guy, for whom a college football award is named, was a first-round pick in 1973. The only two FBS teams that gave him offers were San Diego State and UMass. The current Ray Guy Award winner is no stranger to accolades. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. I always knew I could have that level of success, he said. After the first game, I was kinda starting to visualize that. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) By . So that builds his value to your team especially if you have an older kicker who now you can take the kickoff duty from.. His worse pass-blocking grade came the next week against Towson, registering a 34.3 grade on 26 passing opportunities. 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 | 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). Will the Cowboys' big gamble pay off? Above is a plot of the average Approximate Value (AV) of a punter per season who has been drafted in the last 15 seasons. Araiza shattered the all-time record of 32 punts of 50 or more yards in a single season, by achieving 39. Even if we factor in returns and touchbacks, Araiza is on pace for history: SDSUs net punting average is 46.7 yards per punt; since the NCAA started including touchbacks in net punting average, no team has been better than 45.0. Also, a higher average yards per punt does not always mean better sometimes you want to directionally punt, so this can be misleading. A fifth-round selection for Araiza would not be particularly noteworthy in the history of punters taken in the NFL draft. More than 300 prospects for the . Thomas won the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year after collecting 20.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks this past season. 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. 23 overall by the then-Oakland Raiders in 1973. I know my personal traits as an athlete, as a football player, as the leading tackler of a top 25 special teams unit. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. While Brugler assesses Dunkles draft stock as a late-round pick based on his questionable athleticism to hold up in pass protection, he believes Dunkle has the play strength to turn defenders in the hole and be a dominant force in a phone booth in the run game. He also rated Dunkle above average in all of the games he studied this year and found him dominant against Air Force and UTSA in the Frisco Bowl. The San Diego State punter capped off his final season at the college level with the ultimate honor for a college punter, the Ray Guy Award. Leg that can boot the football 80 yards, was a first-round pick in 1973 York City, York. To him than he ever knew value is almost negligible not draft a punter, regardless of how good is. 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