Both are a long shot to be drafted at the end of the month. 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. He also has the ability to make tackles, with speed and athleticism. Achieving a historic 12-win season and earning a spot in the final College Football Playoff Top 25 Rankings brought many advantages for the San Diego State Aztecs. The 2022 NFL draft is a little over two weeks away. 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. He is a threat to cover his own punts and kicks. In the rare occurrence that one of his kicks is returned, Araiza can be found taking down the returner. Get the latest on Buffalo Bills P Matt Araiza including news, stats, videos, and more on CBSSports.com . Moreover, his lack of blocked kicks demonstrates that Araiza consistently gets good elevation. General manager Tom Telesco spoke to the media on Thursday and was asked about Araiza in the draft. In this past season alone, Araiza had the following: I have not seen a punter with the sheer power that Araiza displays on a consistent basis. Matt Araiza draft projection. Track the most effective teams on first down in the league, and youll notice they just so happen to be the most effective defenses. Use our promo code VENDETTA or use the link below to get a 100% instant matchon any deposit. The 2022 NFL Draft is quickly approaching, with the first round kicking off on Thursday, April 28th. P Matt Araiza earned $216,148 in his NFL career. Safely draftable and carrying middle-round grades in the league.. In 1976 and 1978, a whopping eight punters were drafted. He quantified the athletic ability displayed on punt return coverage with an excellent showing at the NFL Combine. During his first two seasons with the Aztecs, he hit long field goals of 48 yards (Wyoming 19, Colorado 20). However, what makes Araiza special is that he also kicks field goals and does kickoffs. 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. Although Araizas leg strength is the crown jewel of his scouting report, there are times when hell need to take a little off his punts to achieve success at the next level. Most fans expected San Diego State's Matt Araiza to be the first punter selected in the 2022 NFL draft, but multiple prospects at his position came off the board before he heard his name called . And no, thats not the type of gimmicky love youll see bestowed on some other athletes in minor roles. Of the 27 punters drafted in the past 15 seasons, just six of these players have made a Pro Bowl these six punters only made one Pro Bowl each. As for Araiza, the Bills could potentially be getting a steal with their selection of the player known as "Punt God.". Araiza may be the greatest college punter of all time. Like clockwork. John Harbaugh is a former special teams coach and he has a better eye for punters and kickers than any other head coach in the NFL, so if he wanted Stout, you can bet he liked his punting style more than he liked Araiza's booming style. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Other Aztecs are also headed for the NFL Draft as well. While Ive just talked you through a brief history lesson of punting in the NFL Draft, the San Diego State product is coming off a historic season of college football punting. Thanks for contacting us. Since 2000, just two draft classes (2017 and 2011) have not had a punter selected to the NFL. San Diego State wasnt prepared for this 10-man rush of the punter, but that didnt matter to Araiza. If youre sitting comfortably, lets begin. From the aforementioned information, it appears that Araiza is an elite punting prospect. Currently, Matt Araiza is projected to go around the 5th or 6th round, but that could easily change as we get closer . In a sign of things to come at the collegiate level, his 37 career field goals set a San Diego Section record. All Rights Reserved. The TCU Horned Frogs and the Georgia Bulldogs will tie a bow on the After a pair of epic College Football Playoff Semifinals on New Years Eve, the Arnold Classic 2023 Live Online: How To watch From Anywhere, Where To Watch Tim Hortons Brier 2023 Live Online, Curling Update: How To watch Tim Hortons Brier 2023 Live Here, Rough N Rowdy 20: Preview, Fight Card, Venue and Live Online, Ian Garry vs Song Kenan Prediction, UFC 285 Card, Betting Odds and Picks, Where To Watch Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury Live Free Online, South American U-20 Championship 2023 Live Online For Final day, 2023 Scotties Tournament of Hearts Final Day Live TV Channel, Super Bowl Coin Toss Results History, Betting Odds and Props 2023, Best Super Bowl Halftime Show Prop Bets and Picks. Theres simply no escaping it. The reigning Ray Guy Award winner as the nation's top punter, Araiza set an FBS record with a 51.19-yard . 17 for the first round of the draft. Ill make a bold statement and say that, if the Bears trade down and acquire a pick in Round 4, I wouldnt be furious if they took Araiza with that selection. Brugler's take: The Ray Guy Award winner last season, Araiza has a booming leg and showed it off as a punter and kicker (field goals, extra points, kickoffs . He was a sixth-round pick of the team at the 2022 NFL draft. 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. Of course, Davis didnt need to play third downs at Georgia because the damage was already done on the first two downs. Daniel Faalele after Minnesotas win over Colorado in September. He wound up landing at Minnesota, using the Madden video game series to swot up on the rules and regulations. Between high school punting and a love of soccer, he developed a powerful leg that has been comfortably the most powerful in college football this last season. The Ray Guy Award bears his name. The Bills, though, were aware that Araiza was the subject of a police investigation when they releasedMatt Haack his competition for the starting punter job on Monday. Furthermore, its reported that Araiza routinely makes kicks from 50+ in practice. Of course he was. Both batches of decision-makers agree on one overriding idea: Field position really, really matters. He is exceptional on fourth down, averaging 51.2 yards per punt in his most recent season. One of the most exciting prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft is San Diego State University's Matt Araiza. In addition to his prowess as a punter, Araiza has a 73.5% success rate as a field-goal kicker. Matt Araiza, Daniel Bellinger and Cameron Thomas, though, have gotten the most buzz . But I can tell you, we just tried to do what was right, Beane said. In 2021, Araiza has emerged as something of a rockstar in the punting community. Obviously, the ability to pin your opponent deep in their own territory represents a significant advantage. This is the most yards per punt a player has ever averaged in a single NCAA season, illustrating his sheer dominance. He converted all but one of his 97 career extra-point attempts, too. School: San Diego State. Matt Araiza'The Weapon' Ready to Destroy Your Perception of an NFL Punter. 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 | As the 2022 NFL Draft nears, its time to put our money where our mouth is and start making some predictions about the class. 2023 Mock Drafts 2024 Mock Drafts 2025 Mock Drafts. The buzz over this punting class begins with Araiza. He also set the FBS mark for 50-yard punts with his 33rd of the season. Although drafting a punter often indicates this player will be the unquestioned starter, the position simply is not at a premium where the best at the position and an average player are not too far apart from one another. As a result, theres an ever-growing feeling that his floor in the 2022 NFL Draft will be the fifth round. Yet, in San Diego State punter Matt Araiza, the 2022 NFL Draft class might possess the most high-profile and highly skilled punter prospect in recent history. Coffin corners, hang-time, and inside the 20 are phrases being used in evaluation that barely see the light of day ordinarily. He is exceptional on fourth down, averaging 51.2 yards per punt in his most recent season. That ability to flip the field to pin opponents deep in their own half, no matter where his own offense stalls out serves as a cheat code. 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. Win at all costs happens with every team. . That said, Matt Araiza is a generational talent at punter. They call him Punt God. You must be logged in to post a comment But, thats not all Araiza can do. The following is a complete Matt Araiza NFL Draft profile, including stats, highlights and a mock projection. Araiza sits neatly at the intersection of crusty old Football Guys and the new wave of analytically . Of course, draft analysis, projections and rumors will be dominating the headlines until then. Among the players expected to hear his name is punter Matt Araiza out of San Diego State. If that seems confusing/odd/laughable (delete as applicable), think about this: In 2021 he hit 18 punts of 60-plus yards and a pair of 80-plus yarders. 2023 NFL Enterprises LLC. The whole nfl knew. The LA Chargers have 11 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft and there is a chance that the team could draft San Diego State punter Matt Araiza. It's not clear why Araiza dropped all the way down to the sixth round, but there are plenty of theories. Punter Bryan Anger famously went five picks before Russell Wilson in 2012 with the 70th overall pick. What I was asked to do was different from a skill set (perspective) than maybe other players have. 2022 NFL Draft Predictions: Matt Araiza leads class of at least three punters picked, The punter prospects projected to be drafted in this 2022 NFL Draft prediction, Ryan Stonehouse and Cameron Dicker round out punter predictions for the 2022 NFL Draft. Inconsistent accuracy on his field goals. If a team is uncomfortable with your holding skills, that could absolutely lead you to dropping in the draft. Here's everything you need to know about Araiza heading into the 2022 NFL Draft. Landing both prospects would fill position needs, but that's a dream scenario because Gardner will likely be long gone if the Chargers decide to stay at No. Versatility is next to ability or something of that nature. This provides for a quicker delivery and is the standard in the NFL. He converted all but one of his 97 career extra-point attempts, too. I hope he is back in the NFL soon., Asked about the decision not to contact Gilleon, Bills GM Brandon Beane said in a press conference that Kathryn DAngelo, the teams attorney, heard what he had to say and thats when we began our process., Were not perfect. He has a repeatable and pro-ready approach with consistently polished footwork. He only makes two steps upon catching the ball, as opposed to a running start that some college punters use. A team will take the bet that Faalele can, probably in the first round. Forces a lot of fair catches. 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. 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. That isnt the case with Araiza, who ran pro-style formations at San Diego State. He is exceptional on fourth down, averaging 51.2 yards per punt in his most recent season. Team Contract Type Status Year Signed Yrs Total APY Guarantees With the 175th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the LA Rams select punter Matt Araiza out of San Diego State. Hes not just the last line of defense, either. SOMEONE GET ME A TABLE!! Matt Araiza is one of the more fascinating prospects of the 2022 NFL Draft which is saying something, considering he's a punter. @matt_araiza. In 35 games across three years at San Diego State, he punted 84 times for 4,293 yards a 51.1 yards-per-punt rate. Round 5 - Philadelphia Eagles (No. With the NFL Draft fast approaching, six former San Diego State players soon may learn their football fates. He wound up at the same school as Odafe Oweh, a first-round pick for the Baltimore Ravens in last years draft. Banners rationale is driven by the notion of replacement value. He played fewer than half of Georgias defensive snaps in 2021 and played only 18% of third-down snaps. The 21-year-old is a special teams star who won the. Despite that, things haven't really changed from out first look at it. 2023 NFL Combine Hand Size Results: Notable Quarterback Measurements and More, 2023 NFL Combine Risers: Christian Gonzalez, Deonte Banks, and Brian Branch Perform Well, Anthony Richardson Combine Results: Florida Star Makes Case for QB1, Jahmyr Gibbs Landing Spots: Eagles, Saints, and Cardinals Most Popular in Mock Drafts. Carson Strong has a great arm but teams will worry about his injury history. Predicting Four 2023 Middle Linebacker Free Agent Destinations The 2023 NFL offseason should be stacked, Von Miller Eyeing GM Career Post Retirement NFL legend and current Buffalo Bills Edge rusher, Former OSU quarterback C.J. He is a big-armed, big-bodied quarterback who plays in the classic, dropback, Carson Palmer style. The only question now is whether the franchise that selects him is stocked up on enough XXXXXXXXL gear. DB/Specialist Pre-Draft Notes (2022 NFL Draft) by Shane Hallam April 21, 2022 0 520. Now for the burning question: where will Araiza be drafted in April? The temptation to declare it the greatest punting class of all time is understandable. Matt Araiza NFL Draft projections. However, that doesnt mean that his scouting report doesnt reveal some areas for improvement. # . Also, a higher average yards per punt does not always mean better sometimes you want to directionally punt, so this can be misleading. So that builds his value to your team especially if you have an older kicker who now you can take the kickoff duty from.. He also set school records in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles during his high school career. Zac Al-Khateeb is a content producer for The Sporting News. Based on Over The Cap's projections, . Starting with the Punt God himself, lets examine the punter prospects that make up this unlikeliest of NFL Draft predictions. Pro Football Network strives to passionately deliver purposeful, captivating, and exceptional football content. 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. Araiza joined the NFL in April as a sixth-round draft pick. If I can get my punter as an UDFA instead of using a draft selection on him, that would be preferable.. They both feature within draftable range on my recently released 2022 NFL Draft Top 300 Big Board. All this high school success mattered very little when it came to the recruiting process. 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.