Giants Special Teams on Alert for a Johnny Hekker Special

Offense and defense have taken center stage as the main priority for the Giants to break out of their current losing streak. But this Sunday against a well-rounded Los Angeles Rams team, the Giants special teams will have its unique challenge.

Rams punter Johnny Hekker can do enough as a punter to give the Giants some tough starting field position by himself, but punting isn't the only thing he brings to the table as a football player.

Hekker, a four-time All-Pro, and former high school quarterback has made a handful of sneaky passes on fake punt and field goal plays in his career, completing 13 of 22 passes for fourth-down conversions, according to Pro Football Reference.

Hekker even threw a touchdown pass on a fake field-goal attempt against the Seahawks as a rookie in 2012 on the first passing attempt of his NFL career.

Giants head coach Joe Judge, a savant in special teams, having coached it for three Super Bowl-winning Patriots Teams and two National Championship-winning Alabama team, is well aware of Hekker's esteem as a punter and has made it a high priority to gameplan around those abilities this week.

“This guy is a weapon,” Judge said. “Throughout his years in the league, this guy keeps you on the defensive as a punt-return unit. He makes teams adjust their game plans.

“As we explained to our team, you have to picture this guy really as a quarterback who can punt. He’s not a punter who throws the ball. Anyone who really studies the NFL [knows] he’s really changed the punting position in a lot of ways.”

The Giants special teams have ranked at or near the top 10 in the league in almost every major statistical special teams category over the last two seasons under special teams coach Thomas McGaughey, and it hasn't given up a single conversion on fourth-down trick plays this year.

It's a feat that the Giants take a lot of pride in as they make it a main priority of using their best players on special teams regardless of their role on offense and defense.

McGaughey has been reminding his players to be on the lookout for a possible trick play by the Rams all week.

“Their fake history is extensive,” McGaughey said. “It’s just the way he plays the game. He can make all the throws at any point in time on the field. I’m sure at some point in time it’s going to show up.”