His worse pass-blocking grade came the next week against Towson, registering a 34.3 grade on 26 passing opportunities. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. Chad Reuter ranks his favorite picks in each round. Araiza can literally flip the field. This is no better illustrated than noting that he achieved TWO 80+ yard punts. One of the most exciting prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft is San Diego State University's Matt Araiza. Bellingers seasonal production did not overtly scream NFL caliber tight end, finishing 2021 with 31 receptions for 357 yards and only two touchdowns. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. to gain some insight on how teams are evaluating the Aztecs enrollees as the draft process is set to begin. His worse pass-blocking grade came the next week against Towson, registering a 34.3 grade on 26 passing opportunities. The Aztecs are 7-0 and have the nation's 5th-ranked defense with a potent rushing offense. Araiza is the highest drafted punter in program history and third Aztec punter selected in the NFL Draft, following Mike Saxon in 1984 (300th pick) and Wayne Ross in 1988 (315th pick). It was just to play football, to branch out as an athlete.. Bell will need to distinguish himself throughout the draft process if he wants to earn a shot at impressing a team and a spot in training camp. These were certified piss missiles not to be confused with lucky bounces and rolls. These traits make for an incredibly impressive athlete, but how would he test at the NFL Combine? The former MVP has adapted and evolved to become an excellent conductor of Phillys offense. 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. I recognize that my train of thought may be different from the rest of the league. Matt Araiza is downright dynamite.. 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Hes going to make stops at all different points of the field, said Brugler. Hes a talented guy who should help with winning the field position category., However, just like any other special teams prospect, Coach Maalouf believes the San Diego State product should be worked out by coaches. Of course you would use a first-round pick on the Punter That Was Promised. 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. But if the Aztecs go undefeated, and Araiza remains their most valuable player, shouldnt he get something more? Since NFL defenses vary their fronts constantly, Thomas versatility to play inside or outside will give him a boost to climb teams draft boards. 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). In the past 25 years, the highest-drafted punter was Bryan Anger, selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 70th pick in the 3rd round. The 2022 NFL Draft surprisingly saw just one QB taken in the first two rounds, but that doesn't doom the entire crop to irrelevance. Gennaro Filice provides draft grades for each NFC West team. The dude has an absolute howitzer for a left leg, one that booted the ball 90 yards in the effing air on Saturday night in Hawaii. Georgias Dominant Title Defense and a Curtain Call for the Ages, The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 1 Instant Reactions. While Trenton Thompson has not been invited to either of the four end of season all-star bowl games, he will look to impress scouts throughout the draft process, starting with San Diego States pro day, annually held in March. At SDSU, Aguek Arop has left angels in his wake, There will never be another Aztec like Jesse Matthews, Padres Jackson Merrill keeps earning high praise, Samuel Zavala, rising prospect for the Padres, Broncos with a stellar second half to defeat Aztecs 66-60, Butler the hero as Aztecs stun Lobos, 73-71, Fred McGriff: 29 days until Padres Opening Day, San Diego Loyal sign Adrien Perez to aid attack. 10-yard split time 1.61 seconds San Diego State punter Matt Araiza has created a loyal following with his ridiculously strong leg. No other punter. Bellinger recently signed with JB Sports, Inc., the same agency that represents San Francisco 49ers tight end, George Kittle. All that matters is watching him boom footballs as far as he can. So, Im going to try and do it as long as possible.. He is exceptional on fourth down, averaging 51.2 yards per punt in his most recent season. He converted all but one of his 97 career extra-point attempts, too. But the answer is simple: yes. Its been huge to have that impact on my home town as well. This seems like a cute questionthe football equivalent of asking someone whether theyd eat the worlds grossest food for a million dollars. The Raiders drafted him with the 23rd pick in 1973. He's hit more 60-yard punts this year than anyone ever. Cameron Thomas, Matt Araiza, and William Dunkle decided to forego their senior seasons on the Mesa and declare for the NFL Draft. 23 overall by the then-Oakland Raiders in 1973. 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! My sophomore season, we won the state championship, Araiza said. Averaging 51.19 yards per punt, Araiza is the all-time single-season average punt distance leader. Even now, on the precipice of turning professional, there is still the glint of pursuing soccer in the eyes of the San Diego State punter. Araiza doesnt just punt, though: He was the Aztecs place kicker before taking on double duty. When it comes to punters, the bigger surprise is that the Buccaneers took Camarda over Araiza. With the 2022 NFL Draft in the books, Adam Schein breaks down what he loved and loathed from the league's Vegas venture. The Sixth Man award almost always goes to the NBAs highest-scoring bench player. The Punter That Was Promised would be the most valuable player in football by a wide margin. Chicago took offensive tackle Zach Thomas, Camerons brother, in the sixth round. Angers cumulative yard per punt average in four years at California was 43.5, including a high of 45.6 in his junior season. As his team keeps winning games and his punts keep soaring over the heads of baffled punt returners, he also raises a question: Just how valuable can a punter truly be? . Diverse team following across multiple sports leagues, but Aztecs come first in college athletics. But the San Diego State punter, nicknamed "Punt God" by Twitter and anyone that has seen his 80-yard moonshots for three seasons with the Aztecs, has declared for the 2022 NFL Draft. . , our 15th-highest-ranked prospect. published this week, Ryan Wilson has the Chargers drafting Thomas with the 20th pick in the first round. In the past 25 years, the highest-drafted punter was Bryan Anger, selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 70th pick in the 3rd round. This last selection is commonly referred to as, List of 1990s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com, List of 2000s Hall of Fame Inductee's at profootballhof.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1979_NFL_Draft&oldid=1142347380, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 22:29. Time will tell. The San Diego State product has shot up draft boards (relatively) thanks to a season in which he set an NCAA record by averaging 51.19 yards per punt, eclipsing the record set by Texas A&M's Braden Mann in 2018. But I know there are other players in the league who are told to just bang the ball as far as they can down the field, and the team is going to cover. Waring caught 31 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns, almost identical to Bellingers final season. Gennaro Filice provides draft grades for each NFC East team. While that makes him significantly less employable as an NFL kickerif a righty kicker gets hurt, teams would never reach out to a lefty for tryouts, since its complicated to have a holder relearn how to get the snap down in reverseit makes him significantly more employable as a punter, as its believed that lefty punters put reverse spin on the ball that makes it tougher to catch. But thats only half-true: Araiza is also statistically the most talented punter prospect of all time. I thought I was going to play soccer overseas in Europe, he says, so that was the goal for a while., Most kickers and punters specialize in their chosen paths from an early age. Yet, hed only punted in one game prior to this season. Stout will likely end up replacing the longtime Ravens punter, who turns 40 in August. 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. Araiza managed six punts over 70 yards and two in excess of 80 yards. Show me in the rule book where it says a punter cant win the Heisman! His broad jump of 10 1 was better than many who are projected to be high draft selections, including Aidan Hutchinson, David Bell, Isaiah Spiller, Brian Robinson Jr., and Trey McBride. SIGN UP NOW: $1,000 risk-free on FanDuel Sportsbook! All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. One theory on why he fell is because he's never held for extra point or field goals. That was definitely my first love. 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. But, I knew I had the potential and once I got rocking and rolling, everything would work out as it did.. Araiza addressed the issue at the NFL Combine and SDSUs Pro Day, where he boomed punts that had a hang time as much as 5.3 seconds (the NFL average is 4.3 seconds). Defensive end Cameron Thomas was chosen in the third round by Arizona and tight end Daniel Bellinger went in the fourth round to the New York Giants. Hed be worthy of going first. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Former Eagles President and Browns CEO Joe Banner gave his take on how he would approach this unique prospect. 180 overall pick in the sixth round on Saturday. H, es going to make stops at all different points of the field, said Brugler. Ray Guy, the only punter in the Hall of Fame, was drafted No. Bucky Brooks highlights 10 perfect rookie-team fits from the 2022 NFL Draft. 21 UCLA women top ASU in OT in Pac 12 opener 81-70, Irving senses Mavs urgency in new star pairing with Doncic. The success of a hometown kid has had a significant impact on the community, and for all the nicknames, memes, and hilarity it brings, the San Diego State punter has also provided inspiration for a younger generation. In 2020, he dialed in 71.4%, and in 2021, he achieved 64.3%. San Diego States Matt Araiza is the third punter in school history selected in the NFL Draft. The Aztecs are playing for the Mountain West title Saturday and Araiza was going to have a big role again. He now holds the NCAA records for punting average in a season (51.19), punts over 50 yards (39), and punts over 60 yards (18). 11 overall in 1979 by the New Orleans Saints after being a kicker and punter in college. However, his pass-blocking steadily improved throughout the final ten games of the season, and he finished with a 73.3 pass-blocking grade. Mountain West Football: Who Had The Most Turnover Luck In 2022? According to PFF, Dunkle registered a 38.0 pass-blocking grade and committed two penalties against Arizona and a 55.6 grade against Utah the following week on 18 pass opportunities in each game. In fact, the San Diego State punter and placekicker had his eye on playing in his school's brand-new stadium next season while going for a master's degree. Only one punter, Pressley Harvin III, was drafted last year, taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 254th pick (7th round). 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. Im excited for the challenge. Hes big. Bellinger will have a massive opportunity to show teams that he should be drafted in the top 100 like his former tight end mate, starting with the Senior Bowl and then the NFL Combine. Spent pretty much countless hours at that field with my Dad, just practicing all different types of stuff for soccer. Punting you go out there and you swing as hard as you want.. And starting this fall, San Diego State also tasked Araiza with doing the thing that he was put on this earth to do: punt the football. When we spoke on Tuesday night, Araiza called kicking a football really hard the greatest feeling. In addition to punting, he handles placekicking and kickoff duties for San Diego State. A two-star recruit who was ranked as the 19th kicker in the class, he could have elevated his profile at one of the big-name kicking camps. His big leg led him to being named the 2021 Ray Guy Award (nation's top punter) winner and a first-team AP All-American. 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.. The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. But as soon as Araiza started kicking, it became clear that he had a gift for it. 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. Araiza set an NCAA record with a 51.19-yard punting average boosted by punts of 86 and 81 yards as well as a record 39 punts of 50-plus yards and 18 punts of 60-plus yards. The Bills' selection at No. John Stark from Florida State made it into the second round, way back in 1982. How high is his ceiling at the NFL level? Despite all the success on the football field for Rancho Bernardo, Araiza was largely overlooked in the 2018 recruiting cycle. Copyright 2019-2023. Araiza may be the greatest college punter of all time. Neutral Media. His, was better than many who are projected to be high draft selections, including. After three balls, he told my dad that I was going to play in the NFL, Araiza says. Somehow, hes close to the best in the nation at all three. 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., Thomas won the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year afte. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. 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. In reality, he is an offensive weapon, the kind that ra-ra football coaches . I dont think I realized how important it was when I made the decision, Araiza said. Brugler assesses that Araiza, the top punter in the draft, will likely be a Day 3 draftee (rounds four through seven) and could go early in Day 3 depending on how impressive he performs during team workouts. John Stark from Florida State made it into the second round, way back in 1982. ET. Being close to home as his popularity has grown during this season has also had a tremendous impact on Araiza. Middle Tennessee State punter Kyle Ulbrich is . , given to the best punter in college football. Araiza served as SDSU's placekicker while he was in college, so he's never had to hold. Now for the burning question: where will Araiza be drafted in April? Since 2001, NFL teams starting drives from inside their own 5-yard line have scored just 16.8 percent of the time. Im excited to go to a winning team, Super Bowl favorites, that will be awesome, Ariaza said by phone after the draft. 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