These traits make for an incredibly impressive athlete, but how would he test at the NFL Combine? Gennaro Filice provides draft grades for each NFC North team. 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. 2022 NFL Draft, Matt Araiza, Mountain West Football, San Diego State Football, Mountain West Football, NCAAF, NFL Draft, San Diego State, 2023 NFL Combine: Preview, Schedule, How To Watch. Banners rationale is driven by the notion of replacement value. In the NFL, only two players can release, so additional time to get downfield is significant. Did one NFC West team just accumulate more prospect talent than the rest of the division combined? Did the Packers blow it by once again passing on the receiver position in Round 1? However, his pass-blocking steadily improved throughout the final ten games of the season, and he finished with a. Leodalis De Vries, the next international star for Padres? A hundred percent, a hundred percent, said Araiza, who watched the draft from home with family and friends. 12.0Matt Araiza, SDSU (48 Punts)Inside 20 63%Inside 10 27%Touchback 29%Avg. But how have other drafted punters panned out in the NFL? After Stouts selection was announced, an ESPN broadcaster said: Not many things surprise me in the draft because you expect unpredictable things. 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. Punting you go out there and you swing as hard as you want.. Araiza seems like he's going to be a good fit in Buffalo. Normally punters arent stars of undefeated teams, but Araiza is an exception. Just three years ago, another Aztec tight end with limited production in his collegiate career, Kahale Warring, was drafted by the Houston Texans with the 86th pick (3rd round) in the NFL Draft. While punter prospects arent rare theyre more commonplace than youd expect no prospect at the position has captured the imagination with a mastery of their craft quite like the San Diego State standout. San Diego State Aztecs punter Matt Araiza has been the talk of the college football universe this season, with his ridiculous distance and precision playing a major role in San Diego State's victories. 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. More than 300 prospects for the . 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). This season, hes put it to devastating use week in and week out. With Camarda now in Tampa, that likely spells the end of Bradley Pinion's three-year run with the. Mountain West Football: Who Had The Most Turnover Luck In 2022? Two additional teammates will look to add to the recent list of secondary players who made the jump to the NFL after excelling at San Diego State. Labeled the "Punt God," Araiza set an NCAA record with a 51.2-yard average on his punts in 2021. The San Diego State punter was better than Camarda in almost every metric last season. But whats the legacy of the blockbuster album? Reacting to the pick, NFL Network broadcaster Rich Eisen said: Let me tell you something, Buffalo Bills fans, you should be very, very happy. Its not ordinary to find a punter dominating social media and football conversations across the country. With the new changes to the touchback rules, pretty much every kickoff is a touchback. In 2020, he dialed in 71.4%, and in 2021, he achieved 64.3%. He was the San Diego sectional kicker of the year in all three years he kicked, and broke the county record for career field goals. The Aztecs are 7-0 and ranked 21st in the AP poll, with two wins over Pac-12 opponents. Brugler predicts Bellinger will be the second San Diego State player drafted (after Cameron Thomas). He was being 100 percent serious, and hes 100 percent correct. The question mark on him will be whether he has the athleticism and the speed to hold up against quick, interior rushers in the NFL, said Brugler. Highest Punter Ever Drafted Russell Erxleben was drafted No. Certainly, a benefit for Araiza is his ability to also excel at kickoffs and handle place-kicking duties if necessary, providing more reason to use a middle-round pick on the Ray Guy Award winner. 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. Araiza will remember that for some time to come, a perceived snub he will use as motivation. Personally, I would not draft a punter, regardless of how good he is, until the 7th-round the 6th-round at the earliest. 130) and Georgia's Jake Camarda to the Buccaneers (fourth round, No. Show me in the rule book where it says a punter cant win the Heisman! 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). 18 Aztecs collapse in final minutes, fall at Boise State, Game preview: No. After three balls, he told my dad that I was going to play in the NFL, Araiza says. Araiza set the FBS record this year with a 51.19 average. But then came the 50-, 60-, 70-. If a team is uncomfortable with your holding skills, that could absolutely lead you to dropping in the draft. Thomas won the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year after collecting 20.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks this past season. Im watching for different reasons than San Diego State fans. I know what I bring to the NFL. San Diego States Matt Araiza is having the greatest punting season in college football history. Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News, for example, projects Araiza to go 174th overall to the defending AFC champion Bengals. Punts in between the 30s (2021 only):Jordan Stout, Penn State (36 Punts)Inside 20 83%Inside 10 53%Touchback 6%Average Field Pos. The first two punters went off the board in the fourth round with the Ravens selecting Jordan Stout and the Buccaneers taking Jake Camarda. As for being the third punter drafted? The draft was held May 3-4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, New York. All the more impressive, the 2021 season was Araiza's first taking on full-time punting duties for the Aztecs. It is what it is. Unlike other positions, not many teams are looking to add a rookie punter to their team, let alone willing to draft a punter with a precious draft pick. Bringing as much star power as a punter can, Araiza will also bring some questions, though, as he was a three-time All-CIF San Diego Section kicker at Rancho Bernando High before becoming an All-Mountain West Conference standout for the Aztecs. Per the report, police implicated Carter in street racing, which . Former Saints punter Thomas Morstead recently explained to the Athletic why that's a concern. San Diego State punter Matt Araiza speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday, March 5, 2022, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. This versatility only adds to his value heading into the NFL Draft since he can be the kickoff specialist as well as fill in as an emergency kicker should the starter suffer an injury during a game. We were all kind of surprised. San Diego State hosts Fresno State on Saturday night. Georgias Dominant Title Defense and a Curtain Call for the Ages, The Mandalorian Season 3, Episode 1 Instant Reactions. His selection will depend more on his hangtime and ability to prevent big returns than his record-setting statsin the NFL, returners are faster and better, and might be able to get under the balls that are flying over college players heads. 10-yard split time 1.61 seconds 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 | Its a loaded defensive end class, Brugler said. But he still wasnt punting. 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. The Mandalorian Season 3 Premiere Is a Slick Reminder of What Makes Mando Work, What We Learned From Testing, and a Bahrain GP Preview. Matthew Ryan Araiza (born May 16, 2000) is an American football punter who is a free agent. 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. . Sorry, I cantPunt God is playing Fresno State on CBS Sports Network at 10:30 p.m. Youd think the players at Air Force would be used to dealing with airborne projectiles, but the punt returner just watched as the ball flew over his head. His 39 punts of over 50 yards are a single-season NCAA record, as are his 18 punts of over 60 yards. When Araiza was younger, his brother took him out to a local field with some footballs and let him kick away. With Araiza now in Buffalo, that puts veteran punter Matt Haack on the hot seat. The reality is that Araiza is one of a kind, hence the nicknames Anomaly and Punt God.. Plus Stetson and Duggan as Pros With Trent Dilfer (Bonus Episode). It was just to play football, to branch out as an athlete.. All Rights Reserved. With the 2022 NFL Draft in the books, Adam Schein breaks down what he loved and loathed from the league's Vegas venture. 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. So that builds his value to your team especially if you have an older kicker who now you can take the kickoff duty from.. San Diego State punter Matt Araiza is unlike anyone who has ever played the position before. Araizas performances have been record-setting. Can Chris Olave revitalize the Saints' aerial attack? A fourth player, senior Daniel Bellinger, also took the next step in his career rather than return to SDSU for a super senior season. Though the Buffalo Bills got the third punter of the 2022 NFL Draft's final day, they certainly got the one with the most fanfare. ET. Marc Ross spotlights 10 rookies set up for success in the 2022 NFL season and beyond. 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. r collecting 20.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks this past season. From the aforementioned information, it appears that Araiza is an elite punting prospect. Stout will likely end up replacing the longtime Ravens punter, who turns 40 in August. But the biggest question about Harden remainsand it wont be answered until the playoffs. But, I knew I had the potential and once I got rocking and rolling, everything would work out as it did.. They try to be consistent, perfecting their motion so its the same every time. Another attribute teams love about Thomas is his versatility to play up and down the line of scrimmage. Will the Cowboys' big gamble pay off? 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. His worse pass-blocking grade came the next week against Towson, registering a 34.3 grade on 26 passing opportunities. I grew up playing three on three on this tiny indoor field, and thats kind of where my love for soccer and sports started. Wingspan 73 1/8 Between high school punting and a love of soccer, he developed a leg of steel that was easily the most powerful in college football this last season and beyond. Hed be worthy of going first. 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. Who turns 40 in August brugler predicts Bellinger will be the second San Diego States Matt Araiza is an.. Season 3, Episode 1 Instant Reactions wont be answered until the 7th-round the 6th-round at the earliest is versatility. Your holding skills, that likely spells the end of Bradley Pinion & # x27 ; s three-year run the... 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