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. Every front office in the NFL may have Araiza at a different spot on their boards come the last week in April, but the standout college special teams player should hear his name called during the 2022 NFL Draft. Before the 2022 NFL Draft, NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein projected Araiza to go in the third round. That is an incredibly high projection for a special teams player, as punters and kicker often . During his first two seasons with the Aztecs, he hit long field goals of 48 yards (Wyoming 19, Colorado 20). All Rights Reserved. 17 for the first round of the draft. All Rights Reserved. Of course, draft analysis, projections and rumors will be dominating the headlines until then. 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. From there, lift off. Can he shuffle his size-18 feet quickly enough to keep up with Von Miller off the edge? The only other times it happened came in 1993 and 2007. Those two picks were also somewhat surprising, if only because you almost never see two punters get taken that early With Stout going at 130th overall and Camarda going three picks later, this year marked just the third time since 1993 that two punters were taken before the end of the fourth round. No other player this season has two 80+ yard punts. 2022 NFL Draft Team Mock Drafts. In 2021, the Bills only punted a total of 52 times, which was tied for the fifth-lowest total in the NFL. This unit was added to a lot this offseason. In 2020, he made 71.4%, and in 2021, hes down to 64.3%. 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. DATABASE. The biggest surprise is that college football's top punter, Matt Araiza, wasn't the first punter off the board this year. The Bills may not have known about the allegations hanging over punter Matt Araiza when they . Araiza is averaging 54.0 yards per punt, which would crush the NCAA and NFL records51.0 in college (set in 2018 by Braden Mann) / 51.4 in the NFL (set in 1940 by Slingin' Sammy Baugh). The big-legged San Diego native is considered one of the best prospects at his position in years and many are eager to see where he lands. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Araiza now holds the record for punts of 50+ yards. He is exceptional on fourth down, averaging 51.2 yards per punt in his most recent season. An immobile quarterback with a sketchy knee will be a no-no for most teams, and depending on how concerned teams are about the injury he could slip all the way to day three of the draft. As the 2022 NFL Draft nears, it's time to put our money where our mouth is and start making some predictions about the class. The victims lawyer, Dan Gilleon, said the Bills also ignored his warnings about Araiza in late July. His ceiling could be. Two NFL teams had Matt Araiza red flags before draft. 201. The list of accomplishments is unreal. No punter has been selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft since 1995. Theres simply no escaping it. (Interestingly, I found out while researching this that Cleveland used second round picks in both 1977 and 1978 to draft a punter. C.J. MKFs unique style and gameplay make betting fun and easy. 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. (Interestingly, I found out while researching this that Cleveland used second round picks in both 1977 and 1978 to draft a punter. @matt_araiza. Stout will likely end up replacing the longtime Ravens punter, who turns 40 in August. That said, it appears unlikely that Araiza will be a realistic target for them unless he somehow falls to Round 5. Weve been studying the players for 11 months. Twenty-nine percent of his punts went for touchbacks. Gambling problem? No wonder the "punt god" is generating NFL draft buzz. These arent just courtesy of a lucky bounce either these punts are traveling through the air. Copyright 2019-2023. Through the first 180 picks, there were more punters selected (3) than were taken in the entire 2021 draft combined (The Steelers selection of Pressley Harvin was the only punter pick last year). Of course, there were more rounds and selections back then. At Michigan, he excelled as partner in crime for Aidan Hutchinson, the projected first-overall pick in the upcoming draft. Both batches of decision-makers agree on one overriding idea: Field position really, really matters. Meanwhile, Araiza saw some sophomore struggles, completing only 71% of his field goals and missing an extra point for the first time in his career. His season average of 51.19 yards set a new single-season record. Matt Araiza came into the 2022 NFL Draft as a fan favorite. 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. August 26, 2022. Login. He converted all but one of his 97 career extra-point attempts, too. Araiza, nicknamed the "Punt God," was a unanimous All-American and the winner of the Ray Guy Award in 2021. Pro Football Network strives to passionately deliver purposeful, captivating, and exceptional football content. This provides for a quicker delivery and is the standard in the NFL. Scroll through to view photos of P Matt Araiza, Buffalo's pick in the sixth round, 180th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. He gets the ball off quickly and generates an insane amount of force from his left leg. If you look at his numbers, it's pretty clear that Araiza has one of the strongest legs of any punting prospect in NFL history. Although the 40-yard-dash may not be a direct indicator of a players game speed, the fact that Araiza ran a 4.68 is notable in its own right. Here's everything you need to know about Araiza heading into the 2022 NFL Draft. MattAraiza. 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. DBs and Specialists. But now Araiza is gone, released Saturday afternoon, and with the preseason games over, the Bills have to trim . Cut (s): Eli Ankou, Prince Emili, Mike Love, Kingsley Jonathan, Brandin Bryant, Daniel Joseph, C.J. Punter prospects are rare, multiple in the same class are even more so. In Araizas scouting report, we break through the numbers and noise to scrutinize his pro potential ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft. 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. section: | slug: 2022-nfl-draft-shocker-bills-land-punt-god-matt-araiza-who-surprisingly-gets-taken-behind-two-other-punters | sport: football | route: article_single.us | Araiza stands at just over 6-foot-1 and weighs 200 pounds. I didnt know what a first down was or anything, Faalele told ESPN in 2018. Moreover, his lack of blocked kicks demonstrates that Araiza consistently gets good elevation. March 25, 2022 5 min read. After the horrendous playoff performance, the Packers . Of course, draft analysis, projections and rumors will be dominating the headlines until then. He showcases very good touch and a repeatable delivery. Additionally, few of these punters have been widely recognized as the best at their position, even for one season. This next punt traveled 88 yards through the air, landing from his own 12-yard line to the literal goal line. Current. MORE:NFL Draft prospects 2022: Updated big board of top 150 players, rankings by position. Punter. As Araiza prepares to break positional norms in the 2022 NFL Draft class, his prolific performances as a punter can be traced back to his roots at Rancho Bernardo High in San Diego. In his first season, Araiza handled kicking and kickoff duties, as his punting prowess remained hidden. Even then, the potential power lingering in his left leg remained lowkey. The whole nfl knew. Above is a plot of the average. The Ray Guy Award bears his name. Additionally, Ray Guy was a first-round pick in 1973, with the award for punting success named after him. Check this out. Punting out of the end zone can be tough for some punters, as there isnt much margin for error if pressure gets into the backfield, and there is more of a condensed space to operation out of. As the 2022 NFL Draft nears, its time to put our money where our mouth is and start making some predictions about the class. He is a big-armed, big-bodied quarterback who plays in the classic, dropback, Carson Palmer style. Currently, Matt Araiza is projected to go around the 5th or 6th round, but that could easily change as we get closer . 174) - 1. While I ordinarily like to steer clear of pro comparisons, there are striking similarities between Stout and four-time first-team All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker. They both feature within draftable range on my recently released 2022 NFL Draft Top 300 Big Board. 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. Being a left-footed punter, teams will have to adjust their formations to help fit his needs. Yet, in San Diego State punter Matt Araiza, the 2022 NFL Draft class might possess the most high-profile and highly skilled . But how have other drafted punters panned out in the NFL? Multiple punters selected in the draft are also not as rare as youd think. Punts in between the 30s (2021 only):Jordan Stout, Penn State (36 Punts)Inside 20 83%Inside 10 53%Touchback 6%Average Field Pos. 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. 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. Updated. 2. 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. You cant even tell that traveling more than 60 yards through the air is a difficult task for a punter by how easy Araiza makes it look. According to PFF, Araiza had the eighth-lowest kickoff return percentage in the country at less than 15%. Four drafted punters are actually less rare than one might imagine. But that style is outdated in the modern NFL, where the last remaining stick-slide-climb thrower is the ever-ageless Tom Brady. I would rather draft depth at other positions, such as defensive back and linebacker, where the players can develop while contributing on special teams.. Of course he was. In 2019, he hit 84.6% of his kicks. According to the NFL Mock Draft Database, . Matt Araiza #19 of the Buffalo Bills takes the field during practice on Aug. 5, 2022, in Orchard Park, New York. If youre sitting comfortably, lets begin.