For the past few weeks here at CBSSports.com, we’ve been ranking every position group in the NFL, and now, we’ve saved the most important position for last: Punters.
Punter is easily one of the most thankless positions in the NFL. If you play well, no one really notices, but if you mess up, everyone thinks you should be cut. Also, it’s worth keeping in mind that unlike other players, most punters are also asked to play at least one other position that have nothing to do with punting (Kickoff specialist or holder).
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a punter, the Chiefs gave us an inside look this season when they mic’d up their punter for a game. And no, I have no idea why they mic’d up their punter, but I love that they did it. We need more mic’d up punters.
Although punting seems simple — you just catch the ball and kick it — it’s not that easy, and because of that, trying to rank the top 10 punters in the NFL also isn’t easy. Almost every punter in the NFL is asked to do their jobs differently: Some are asked to kick it out of bounds, some are asked to keep the ball near the sideline without putting it out of bounds, some are asked to boot the ball as far as they can while others are asked to shoot for a big hang time so that the returner will be forced into a fair catch. When kicking near the end zone, some are asked to attempt a coffin corner kick while others will pooch the ball high into the air hoping it sits inside the 10.
Punting is an art form, so let’s find out who the best artists are.
Let’s get to the rankings.
Just missed: Sam Martin (Broncos), Thomas Morstead (Dolphins), Brett Kern (Titans)
Top 10 punters
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. He ended up punting the ball 88 times in 2021, which was the most of any punter in the league. When you’re punting that often, there’s always a chance that you could mess up or your leg could fall off, but neither of those things happened to Johnston.
The Texans punter definitely made the most of his 88 punts by placing 37 of them inside his opponents 20-yard line, which was the second-best number in the NFL. Johnston was also able to force 22 fair catches with his punts, which was tied for the fifth-highest total in the league. Johnston was one of the few bright spots…
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