At worst, the allegation contained in a civil lawsuit filed Thursday that Araiza, a former San Diego State star . All Rights Reserved. 901 Its time to look at five of the upcoming classs most intriguing (rather than the best) prospects. Matt Araiza did the unthinkable for a punter during the 2021 college football season. The coach offered Faalele a scholarship on the spot. No other player this season has two 80+ yard punts. He gets the ball off quickly and generates an insane amount of force from his left leg. 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. 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. Past. If Araiza is the Punt God and Camarda is Mr. With his all-around contributions, Stout truly puts the special in special teams. Pro Football Network strives to passionately deliver purposeful, captivating, and exceptional football content. Although Araiza saw plenty of action at San Diego State, he might not see the field much in Buffalo. He might be able to punt a football from San Diego to Buffalo. This wasnt just a one-off occurrence either. Thanks for contacting us. Here are the San Diego State Aztecs headed for the 2022 NFL Draft, from Cameron Thomas to Matt Araiza. . Matt Araiza boots 90-yard punt (!! 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. Scroll through to view photos of P Matt Araiza, Buffalo's pick in the sixth round, 180th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. I cant see him falling past Round 4, which seems like a weird thing to say about a punter, but thats definitely the case with him. Matt Araiza is one of the only players in the 2022 NFL Draft who can make an immediate impact. 2023 NFL Draft Top 25 Big Board: Young No. With only two defenders shooting downfield, returning teams dont have to worry as much about initial pressure up the middle and have more of an opportunity to rush the punter. Despite Araiza's incredible 2021 season, he is not expected to be among the highest-drafted punters of all time. 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. That is an incredibly high projection for a special teams player, as punters and kicker often . General manager Tom Telesco spoke to the media on Thursday and was asked about Araiza in the draft. A three-time CIF San Diego State section Kicker of the Year and a sophomore first-team All-American, Araizas athletic accolades werent restricted to the football field. When a guy leads college football in all major punting statistics including average yards, punt yards per game, punts inside the 20 yard line, and PATs made, he's going to draw NFL draft attention. During his first two seasons with the Aztecs, he hit long field goals of 48 yards (Wyoming 19, Colorado 20). The Sporting News breaks down everything you need to know about Araiza's record-breaking season in 2021, and the elite group of punters he hopes to join who managed to leverage their collegiate career into high draft picks: Despite Araiza's incredible 2021 season, he is not expected to be among the highest-drafted punters of all time. They both feature within draftable range on my recently released 2022 NFL Draft Top 300 Big Board. In 2021, the Bills only punted a total of 52 times, which was tied for the fifth-lowest total in the NFL. 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. Above is a plot of the average. And yet, the prediction of a multiple-punter class in the 2022 NFL Draft might surprise a few people. As a San Diego native, there was naturally just one choice. Araiza knocked it out of the park, posting numbers comparable to some highly ranked prospects. If I can get my punter as an UDFA instead of using a draft selection on him, that would be preferable.. The following is a complete Matt Araiza NFL Draft profile, including stats, highlights and a mock projection. NFL MOCK DRAFT. 17 for the first round of the draft. The 2022 NFL Draft is quickly approaching, with the first round kicking off on Thursday, April 28th. 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. Hang time and accuracy are just as important in the NFL. 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 | Positives: Strong-legged punter whos also an exceptional directional kicker. While his power has never been in question, the San Diego State punter displayed accuracy while placing punts with aplomb in front of the eyes of the NFL. 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. 147, a high fifth-round pick. Other Aztecs are also headed for the NFL Draft as well. Look how Hawaii prepped for Matt Araiza. The Aztec junior is an offensive weapon that frequently puts his defense in favorable spots. When and how often will Davis play? The. San Diego State. The reigning Ray Guy Award winner as the nation's top punter, Araiza set an FBS record with a 51.19-yard . Brewer. However, that doesnt mean that his scouting report doesnt reveal some areas for improvement. 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. Eric D. Williams goes to practice with Matt Araiza, who could be the first punter selected on Day 2 of a draft since 2012. . With Camarda now in Tampa, that likely spells the end of Bradley Pinion's three-year run with the team. We've received your submission. Punt God. This season, Araiza has set records and social media alight with his left leg cannon. Furthermore, Todd Sauerbrun, Rohn Stark, Johnny Evans, and Tom Skladany were all punters selected in the second round. In 2021, Araiza has emerged as something of a rockstar in the punting community. The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. For whatever reason, punters have been a popular position to pick in this year's draft. The former San Diego State punter didn't get selected until the Bills made him the first pick of the sixth round (180th overall). On his list of the top 150 prospects on NFL.com, Daniel Jeremiah listed Araiza at No. 2022 NFL Draft Team Mock Drafts. In 2019, he hit 84.6% of his kicks. That demonstrates a level of composure that will be invaluable at the next level. Some national NFL Draft analysts with NFL information have openly stated that he might be selected on Day 2. Coach Marwan Maalouf, currently coaching special teams at the University of Miami and longtime NFL special teams coach, thinks highly of Araiza. The whole nfl knew. Apr 22, 2022. For his career, Araiza averaged 51.1 yards per punt. Login. He wound up at the same school as Odafe Oweh, a first-round pick for the Baltimore Ravens in last years draft. Stroud doesnt want to go to the Bears because Justin Fields, OPINION: Cocaine Bear is stupid, but in a really good way When the idea of, CONTENT 2018 2022 VENDETTA SPORTS MEDIA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions, Why Mitchell Trubisky Is Destined To Fail In The NFL, Barstool Sports Employee Jordyn Woodruff Joins OnlyFans, Sean Allen Sucks At Fantasy Hockey: 2022 Edition, Predicting Four 2023 Middle Linebacker Free Agent Destinations, Von Miller Eyeing GM Career Post Retirement, C.J. Below are the top 10 highest-drafted punters in the history of the NFL draft: Of that group, Guy went onto become a Pro Football Hall of Famer; Stark was a first-team All Pro selection in 1983 and four-time Pro Bowler; Skladany was a 1981 Pro Bowler; Sauebrun was a four-time All-Pro selection, three-time Pro Bowler and two-time NFL punt yards leader; Tupa was a 1999 All-Pro selection; and Anger was a 2021 second-team All-Pro selection, as well as the 2013 NFL punting yards leader. 174) - 1. Field Pos. These traits make for an incredibly impressive athlete, but how would he test at the NFL Combine? The NFL Draft doesn't usually surprise us much when it comes to punting, but on Saturday it came with two big surprises. 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. According to the Associated Press, executives from two different NFL teams became aware that Araiza had been involved in an incident in the lead-up to the draft, though they didnt know the extent of the allegations. Chicago Bears Schedule, News, Roster and Stats | Windy City Gridiron, 2022 NFL Draft: The Matt Araiza film breakdown, 2023 NFL Combine: Winners from Day 2 of DB workouts. Araiza in 2021 booted 79 punts for 4,044 yards for an NCAA-record 51.18 yards per punt. When it comes to punters, the bigger surprise is that the Buccaneers took Camarda over Araiza. This begs the question: how well will Matt Araiza transition to the NFL? Let them know that we sent you! From his own end zone here, he manages to kick the ball roughly 70 yards through the air, and it bounces enough to make it an 86-yard punt in the stat book. The Packers in 2021 saw Mason Crosby struggle and it may have been the end of his Packers career. Surely theres some NFL team that takes him earlier than you would expect. C.J. These arent just courtesy of a lucky bounce either these punts are traveling through the air. With his cannon for a leg, positional versatility, and publicity few punters have ever attracted, Araiza has the potential to be selected significantly higher than most punters have in recent NFL Draft classes. Araiza was selected by the Bills in the sixth round (180th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, he averaged 41.7 yards on 120 punts that tallied over 5,000 yards. But how have other drafted punters panned out in the NFL? The biggest thing to note from the preseason is Epenesa. That group includes not only several picks taken inside the top 100 overall players, but also four players taken in the second round and another two taken in the first round. Davis was the force behind college footballs most dominant defense last season, fueling a Georgia group that carried their team to the national championship. The Buffalo Bills are going to have a tough decision to make. 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. Twenty-nine percent of his punts went for touchbacks. Both Stout and Camarda carry draftable grades from NFL scouts. Copyright 2019-2023. That said, Matt Araiza is a generational talent at punter. Cut (s): Eli Ankou, Prince Emili, Mike Love, Kingsley Jonathan, Brandin Bryant, Daniel Joseph, C.J. His, was better than many who are projected to be high draft selections, including. Zac Al-Khateeb is a content producer for The Sporting News. Manage Settings But when you boom not just one, but two punts over 80 yards, you earn some attention. Araiza can be quite a weapon for NFL teams adding a punter in the 2022 draft. According to the NFL Mock Draft Database, the highest he is projected to go is in the fifth round picks 144 through 179. Both batches of decision-makers agree on one overriding idea: Field position really, really matters. 154) - 1 - Cincinnati Bengals (No. Certainly, the conversation around Araiza as a potential Day 2 prospect fuels that narrative. That isnt the case with Araiza, who ran pro-style formations at San Diego State. Many even called him the 'Punt God.' Matt Araiza Position: PunterHeight: 61Weight: 200 lbsAge: 21College: San Diego State Aztecs. As a junior, Araiza would be eligible for the NFL Draft in both 2022 and 2023. Araiza has as many 80-yard punts in just this season as the NFL has produced since 2013. MORE:NFL Draft prospects 2022: Updated big board of top 150 players, rankings by position. This next punt traveled 88 yards through the air, landing from his own 12-yard line to the literal goal line. . Although he was the top punting prospect in the draft, Araiza ended up being the third punter selected. Matt Araiza, Daniel Bellinger and Cameron Thomas, though, have gotten the most buzz . A minor nitpick in Araizas game is that a quick delivery like his can make it tougher for his teammates to cover significant ground in coverage, but when you factor in how much stronger his leg is than the average punter, it doesnt even matter.