pff punter rankings 2020
IDP Writer/Ranker for PFF.com + PFF full-time data analyst. Although Lutz had a down year in 2020, he did prove that he can still hit clutch kicks and one of his biggest came in Week 8 when he hit a game-winner against the Bears. Thanks to the tender, Carlson will make $3.38 million in 2021. Whenever the Jaguars offense sputtered, which was often, Cooke would come out and flip the field, which caused opposing offenses to usually start their drives with bad field position. Ranking NFL kickers is pretty easy -- at least at the top -- because you just put Justin Tucker at No. 6 USC, 13 at Oregon State, 12 against No. No one was really clear about it, so I'm just going to assume this is a classic "save the best for last" scenario. Dobbins is viewed as damaged goods after a major knee injury that cost him his entire 2021 season. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Johnson's 76.3 coverage grade ranked 10th among qualifiers at the position. His lack of high-end traits and dominant play, however, are concerning. However, his PFF grades of 57.0 and 59.4 in his first two NFL seasons speak to the idea that it hasn't all come together yet. Hed be an elite athlete for a safety, and his coverage skills are unsurprisingly elite already. Note: Free agent punters weren't considered for this list since there's no guarantee they'll be playing in the NFL this year. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. Things got off to a pretty good start as a rookie in 2018 with Smith putting up a 70.0-plus grade in coverage and a 66.6 grade overall, but both of those numbers dipped into the 50s this past season. 1 seed for San Francisco in the playoffs, but Greenlaw made plays like that in coverage throughout the year. Over the past few weeks here at CBSSports.com, we've been putting out our annual top-10 ranking for each position group in the NFL. During the 2021 season, Fox completed two passes for 38 yards. To date, though, Cleveland has only been on the field for 569 snaps in his career. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. Despite ranking 12th in the NFL in punts with 29 . Atlanta needs several of the young cornerbacks they've added to step up in order to see meaningful improvement in their team coverage, but the impact that Jones has over the middle of the field shouldn't be overlooked. Of course, all of these rankings were made using the unique data that can be found as a part of a PFF Elite subscription, and you can use promo code KICKOFF30 here to save 30% off your new PFF subscription today. 2022 NFL Punting Statistics | The Football Database 2022 NFL Punting Statistics The following are the 2022 NFL Punting statistical leaders, sorted by gross punting average. Hes one of the toughest receivers to jam at the line of scrimmage in the country. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. That being said, even Hekker would probably admit that 2020 wasn't his best year, which is why he's so low on the list. 1 and then go from there (Although Tucker's grip on the top spot isn't as firm as it used to be). 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. The only reason Fox isn't higher on this list is because he struggled with touchbacks. 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. 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. Gay can absolutely fly sideline to sideline. HARRISON BUTKER FOR THE WIN FROM 58 YARDS! He also comes downhill as a blitzer like hes shot out of a cannon. To put that in perspective, no other punter in the league even did that with 50% of their punts. To a lesser extent, both Kwon Alexander and Dre Greenlaw give the 49ers above-average play in coverage from the linebacker position, as well. Hes got track speed at 220 pounds. See NFL player statistics across every major statistical category. Provinces with the most coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Italy February 2023. 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. Net yards per punt is better and the good news for Hekker is that he also thrives at that. 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. Listed at 6-foot-4, Wright is a longer linebacker who can cause problems in coverage for opposing offenses in Seattle's zone defense. Because if not, I might have to rethink that analogy). If we were ranking how good players could become, Edmunds would comfortably be in the top five. If you play well, no one really notices, but if you mess up, everyone thinks you should be cut. [Editor's note: PFF's Preseason 2020 NFL Draft Guide is LIVE and features 150 Two-Page Player Profiles, giving you advanced stats, game grades and much, much more. The Australian only had experience with Australian football but wasn't a punter in high school. 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 | The Lions punter hit seven touchbacks last season, which was tied for the most in the NFL. Also, no one was better at pinning in punt returners than Koch. Hes yet another back, though, that has had no exposure in Wisconsins passing game with only 16 catches and four drops. That gamble paid off big time and that's because Fox ended up setting the franchise record for both yards per punt (49.1) and net yards per punt (44.8) during a fantastic 2020 season (Both of those numbers ranked in the top-three in the NFL last year). Thanks to his booming leg, his punts also led to 28 fair-catches, which. I mean, who can forget the time that a punter won the NFL's award for Clutch Performance Play of the Year back in 2019 and he won it by throwing a pass to a KICKER. Not only did he lead the NFL in the all-important net-punting average (45.6), but he also ranked fourth overall in yards per punt (48.7). Thomas is a brute. Hes split wide in Georgias offense and won legitimate wide receiver routes. Littleton should help correct both those areas. He doesnt have the high-end athleticism of the top of the linebacker class, but hes no slouch himself. It's not hard to see why he's referred to as The Maniac when you watch him flying around the field and making plays. As he enters the 2020 campaign at 31 years old, there's a chance his play could be on the decline, but it's too early to say that's the case at this point. He reaggravated the . Over the course of his career, the four-time Pro Bowler has averaged 47.0 yards per punt, which is the second-highest number in NFL history. J.K. Dobbins, Baltimore Ravens; RB22. Following that impressive 2020 season, Bailey made it all the way up to third in our ranking last year, but he's now down to seventh after struggling through most of the 2021 season. Iowa punter Tory Taylor is the reigning Big Ten Punter of the Year, an impressive accomplishment for his first year as a Hawkeye and his first year as an American punter. Hes one of the best at collapsing the pocket in the country and physically manhandled OTs. They can win as run defenders, pass-rushers and coverage defenders. Nathan is the lead fantasy analyst for PFF. Fulton graded better than his teammate Greedy Williams on the LSU defense last season. Huge. Enjoy! Davis hasn't always been considered one of the game's best linebackers. There have been two versions of Jamie Collins over his seven-year career the New England Patriots player who looked like one of the best linebackers in the NFL and the Cleveland Browns player who looked far removed from that status. PFF's Preseason 2020 NFL Draft Guide is LIVE. Maybe the Chiefs should think about moving him to quarterback. The big returns meant that Cole was sometimes making the tackle, which he didn't seem to mind. Its head-scratching that he only played 412 snaps a season ago for the Hawkeyes, but his 90.1 overall grade is far more indicative of his skill. Dante Bonamico (178 through 10) was the only one on pace to do so. Lutz also hit 98.3% of his extras points in 2020 (57 of 58), which was the third-most accurate in the NFL. During that 21-6 win, Anger pinned the Giants inside their own 10-YARD LINE a total of four times with kicks that were downed at the 9-, 8-, 8- and 7-yard line. Jack was flagged eight times in a partial 2019 season compared to five times across the 2017 and 2018 seasons combined. Although Hekker wasn't the best punter in 2020, he arguably had the best single-game of any punter last year. #RiseUpATL: #TBvsATL on FOX: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/EJLjYXQNy2 pic.twitter.com/Sr54Ge1iwX. Perhaps with Kuechly out of the picture, this is the year that David gets his well-earned recognition. By the way, if you've heard Anger's name before, it's probably because you know him as the punter who got drafted ahead of Russell Wilson in 2012. We're in the heart of rankings season here at PFF. Cole. 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. At least, I think that's why we saved this one for last. Thanks to his booming leg, his punts also led to 28 fair-catches, which was the second most that any punter in the NFL forced last season. The Dolphins like Sanders so much that they signed him to a five-year, $22 million extensionthis offseason, which made him the highest-paid kicker in the NFL. In 2020, the Colts . Although the Pro Football Hall of Fame has only inducted two true kickers -- Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen -- in its 58-year existence, Tucker is making a strong case for being the third (or fourth, if Adam Vinatieri gets in), so needless to say, he's at the top of our best kicker list. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NCAA player performance data. section: | slug: ranking-the-top-10-nfl-kickers-and-top-10-punters-heading-into-the-2021-regular-season | sport: football | route: article_single.us | All existing EDGE and ELITE subscribers have access to the guide and can download it here.]. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL and NCAA player performance data. Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Win Probability: 30% Over the course of his career, he's made 90.7% of his kicks, which makes him the most accurate kicker in NFL history. Harris has all the skills to excel in a zone scheme in the NFL. During a Week 7 win over the Bears, Hekker put five punts inside of Chicago's 10-yard line. The Rank value requires a minimum number of snaps played. Hes more likely to come down with jump down the field than the receiver hes guarding. Thats a great skill for a modern back. Young checks pretty much every single box you could ask for and is only a rising true junior. McKinney has picked up PFF coverage grades of 70.0 or higher in three of the past five seasons. The Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints finish PFF's NFL Power Rankings for the 2020 NFL season as the top-ranked reams. Thats the type of rare prospect he is despite not fitting the prototype size-wise (6-foot-1, 192 pounds). Hes seen a distinct upward trajectory to his career but still needs to clean up some more things. #RavensFlock #BALvsCLE pic.twitter.com/MbYBUbu8bw. 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). Sanders also hit eight field goals of 50 or more yards, which was tied for the most in the NFL. Over the course of his career, the Ravens have asked him to attempt five field goals of 61 yards or more (he's 1 of 5 on those kicks). Koo finished the year with 144 points scored, which was tied with Daniel Carlson and Jason Sanders for the most in the NFL. Anger also had a knack for regularly getting off huge punts: He averaged 48.4 yards per punt which ranked fourth in the NFL. Biadasz has been one of the best centers in college football since the day he stepped foot on Wisconsins field. 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. Cole, who definitely had the most impressive punting season in the NFL last year. Thats right folks, this is a 60 yard punt (in the air) with a 5.15 second hang time. As a first-year punter, Fox has plenty of room to get better, which should scare other teams, because he's already one of the best. From quarterbacks to corners to defensive ends to receivers, we've been ranking everyone, and as we do every year, we've saved the best for last: Punters and kickers. Just a casual career-long 70-yard punt for @MrJackFox#CHIvsDET | FOX pic.twitter.com/I0qGNLrwbU. Hes broken 18 tackles on 94 career catches. The last three years have yielded different results, however. Greenlaw's play as a rookie came as a pleasant surprise for San Francisco, particularly with him needing to take on a larger role as Kwon Alexander missed time due to injury. NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated. Hes got an ideal guard build with power throughout his frame. Bailey was also probably pretty loved by the Patriots punt coverage team and that's because only 12 of his 51 punts got returned, which was the fewest returns given up by a punter last year. There is an argument to be made that Jones is the best coverage linebacker in the NFL. 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. Hall has incredible ball skills that saw him be the top graded returning corner in the country last year. Back in December, the Raiders signed Cole to a four-year, $12.4 million extension that included $5.9 million in guaranteed money. PFF employs over 600 full or part-time analysts, but less than 10% of analysts are trained to the level that they can grade plays. Punter Brad Robbins not ranked . Struggles in coverage and penalties can both be pointed to as contributing factors, but neither area proved problematic for Jack in prior years. Hekker has also mastered the art of pinning his opponents deep in their own territory. 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. Johnston was one of the few bright spots for the Texans last season. Dickerson became a household name and his Jheri Curls and goggles made him recognizable outside of the helmet. His 17 catches through two seasons with five drops is his biggest concern now. Falcons retake the lead on a 52-yard FG from YoungHoe Koo. The Lions punter hit seven touchbacks last season, which was tied for the second-most in the NFL. 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. No matter what you ask Wagner to do, he does it at a high level, with 90.0-plus run-defense, pass-rush and coverage grades over the course of his career. #NOvsCHI #Saints pic.twitter.com/6PfrBXEU3W. The Raiders kicker has been in the NFL for three seasons and he's gotten better every year, including last season, when he drilled 94.3% of his field goals, which ranked sixth in the NFL. 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. In 2020, he only kicked three touchbacks making him one of just three punters who had three or less touchbacks on 60 or more punts. During the 2020 season, Way averaged a booming 48.0 yards per punt, which ranked fifth in the NFL and this came just one year after a 2019 season where he finished with the 10th-highest single-season average in NFL history (49.6). Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. section: | slug: ranking-the-nfls-top-10-punters-entering-2022-cowboys-and-raiders-punters-both-crack-the-list | sport: football | route: article_single.us | Robinson was reportedly ousted from West Virginia over the summer and still hasnt found a home for this upcoming fall. AUTOMATIC. Brown is not a player who comes up all that often when discussing the league's best linebackers, but he deserves a spot in the conversation. The Patriots punter regularly got off booming punts, which includes the 60-yarder you see below. One game that was truly indicative of Bailey's season came in Week 13. Punting - Kolton McGhee - 61.4 No one hit the 200 Snap Club, which is to be expected since the season was shorted by three games. He offers nothing as a runner, though, or outside the pocket. That gamble paid off big time and that's because Fox ended up setting the franchise record for both yards per punt (49.1) and net yards per punt (44.8) during a fantastic 2020 season (Both of those numbers ranked in the top-three in the NFL). Wishnowsky is the first of two Australians that landed on the top-10 list this year. The Bills decided to let Bojorquez walk in free agency despite a 2020 season where he led the NFL in yards per punt with a number (50.8) that ranked as the fourth-highest of all-time. Since entering the league in 2012, Wagner's 92.1 PFF grade ranks second out of 103 qualifying linebackers, behind only Kuechly. After a solid rookie year in 2019, Bailey followed that up in 2020 with an All-Pro season. Quarterback 1. His stiffness likely limits him scheme and versatility wise, though. He is coming off a down year by his standards, but even then, his 76.4 PFF grade ranked 11th at the position. #ChiefsKingdom #KCvsLAC pic.twitter.com/7y4KmCEEiA. His body control at the catch point is also elite as he makes difficult catches look commonplace. Hes capable of playing in a Derwin James-Jamal Adams role, but weve yet to see him really dominate in any of those facets. As of February 16, 2023, Rome (Lazio) was the Italian province which registered the highest number of coronavirus . Hes got 17 touchdowns over the past two seasons. Highest-Graded Player: QB Tom Brady (92.6), Super Bowl Win Probability: 4% Versatility wont be his strong suit, though, as he was a different player in the box. At this time last year, it was looking like Jack Fox might not even make it in the NFL, but then he won the punting job in Detroit and if he keeps kicking the way he's been kicking, he's likely going to have the job for a long time. Lemieux is one of the most accomplished guards in the country with 2,601 career snaps to his name. 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. 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. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. Robinson packs a punch as a pass-rusher. WOW.Jason Myers just nails this FG from SIXTY ONE YARDS for the @Seahawks! Little had a bit of a hitch in his pass sets that was worrisome, but there were few better tackles in the country down the stretch last season. Cooke also placed 28 punts inside his opponents 20-yard line, which was tied for the fifth-best number in the NFL. This past season was the first year where he didn't record a run-defense grade above 70.0, coming in at 66.7. Super Bowl Win Probability: 30% pic.twitter.com/R5mkRKoRqs. In the end, the Steelers decided to keep their kicker and the gamble definitely paid off because Boswell has been one of the best kickers in the NFL over the past two years. Okwara is extremely explosive off the edge and is already adept at converting speed to power. His 15 contested catches are top-10 among returning wideouts. 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. @tommy_townsend had the mic against the Chargers pic.twitter.com/zua6j8l7tJ. He has to prove he has enough quicks to rush the passer more consistently, though. Whenever the Jaguars offense sputtered, which was often, Cooke would come out and flip the field, which caused opposing offenses to usually start their drives with bad field position. All Rights Reserved. Myers might not be ranked at the top of his list, but he was arguably the best kicker in the NFL last year. Though their position may be listed as outside linebacker, they don't play close to the same position as someone like Lavonte David. The following are the 2020 NFL Punting statistical leaders, sorted by gross punting average. He has the length to be disruptive in Indianapolis' zone-heavy defense and has shown himself to be well-rounded through his first two NFL seasons. PUNTER HIT STICK @AJCole90 boots the punt, then forces the fumble!#KCvsLV | NBC pic.twitter.com/DGUbeBFb1G. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, at He brings athleticism, speed and playmaking ability to the linebacker position that Pittsburgh has missed since Ryan Shazier's injury. Despite the fact that he's only been in the league since 2017, Butker has already proven himself to be one of the best kickers and if he keeps playing the way he's playing, he might soon be at the top of his list. Hes more slot receiver, though, than an actual tight end in Stanfords offense. 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. Hes one of the best centers in college football in space. Dallas will be hoping both Smith and Vander Esch get back to 2018 form next season. . Check out the 2020 Cincinnati Bengals Roster, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports and more on Pro-Football-Reference.com. When he's not punting the ball, the Lions also love to unleash his throwing arm. Simmons is on another level athletically from linebackers across the country. The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more. Bailey also managed to put a total of 31 punts inside his opponents' 20-yard, which was the second-highest number in the NFL. During his three years in Jacksonville, Lambo has hit 95% of his field goals, including a perfect 5-for-5 in 2020. It is highly recommended that you use the latest versions of a supported browser in order to receive an optimal viewing experience. Here you'll find everything from our NFL quarterback rankings to our position rankings to our all-32 team roster rankings, making it easy for you to enter the 2020 NFL season armed with everything you need to know. 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). 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% The worry is whether or not hell be able to stay at tackle with limited height/length. Wilson is the definition of a modern nose tackle. Houston has one of the best linebacker duos in the league heading into 2020. As if that's not impressive enough, Townsend also placed 20 of his 37 punts inside the 20-yard line, which means he pinned his opponents deep an NFL-leading 54.1% of the time. Consistency will be key for Smith in 2020 as he looks to show why Chicago made him a top-10 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. This past season, in particular, Davis was excellent across the board for the Saints. Oh, and his 90.3 overall grade led the way at the position. Cooke only kicked one punt into the end zone the entire season, which was tied for the fewest in the NFL by any punter that had 20 or more punts in 2021. If you watched any Jaguars games in 2020, then you probably saw a lot of Cooke and that's because he was one of Jacksonville's busiest players. Highest-Graded Player: DI Aaron Donald (94.5), Super Bowl Win Probability: 3% 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. (via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/uk77Hb5yKt. Despite his impressive year, the Bills decided to let the left-footed punter leave to sign with the Rams (Buffalo replaced Bojorquez with Matt Haack). It's a number that highlights both his ability to limit the big play and his ability to make plays on the ball when the opportunity presents itself. When you're punting that often, there's always a chance that you can mess up or your leg can fall off, but neither of those things happened to Way. 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). Nov 22, . When you look at his resume, the fact that his last Pro Bowl appearance came in 2015 is astounding. Press Cover-3 teams are going to love his skillset. . 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. [Editor's note: PFF's Preseason 2020 NFL Draft Guide is LIVE and features 150 Two-Page Player Profiles, giving you advanced stats, game grades and much, much more. That's why the Raiders signed him this offseason. 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 | Kern also showed off that control by only allowing 13 of his punts to be returned for yardage, which was the second-lowest number in the NFL behind only Jake Bailey. 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.