Why Drafting A Punter Was Smart For The Bills
The Buffalo Bills spent their first of three sixth-round picks on punter Matt Araiza out of San Diego State. Araiza, nicknamed the Punt God, set the NCAA single-season record for yards per punt and led the nation with 40 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. This might sound like a surprise pick, but the Bills had major punting issues last season. After letting go of punter Corey Bojorquez before the 2021 season, Buffalo signed Matt Haak. Unfortunately, Haak just didn’t work out after an extremely inconsistent year. Comparing the two punters, you will see why this pick makes a ton of sense.
Matt Haak
Yards per punt 42.9, with just 37.6 net yards
18 Punts were downed inside the 20-yard line
Matt Araiza
Yards per punt 51.2 and 44.2 net yards
40 Punts were downed inside the 20-yard line
By the numbers, you can see that Buffalo is getting much better at the position. Especially when you watch the final few regular-season games for the Bills, Haak was a real issue, and the team could not depend on punting the ball. Now by Drafting Araiza, Buffalo is gaining nine more yards per punt and 22 extra balls downed inside the 20-yard line. These are huge differences and shouldn’t be understated. Plus, Araiza was also an excellent kicker in college, so now Tyler Bass has a built-in backup, and that is something not many teams can even think about. With all of this being said, it’s pretty clear how good of a pick this actually is.
