The Giants' New Punter Is a Weapon, and His Numbers Back It Up

The New York Giants decided they needed to overhaul their special teams, and that started with the guys doing the kicking.

They didn't just go out and grab any punter for a competition; they nabbed one of the best punters in football: Jordan Stout (6-foot-3, 209 pounds), a five-year veteran who played his college ball at Virginia Tech and Penn State.

He spent the past four seasons (68 games) with the Baltimore Ravens, becoming an All-Pro-caliber player. His numbers: 231 Punts, 10,984 total yards, 47.5 yards per punt average, and 100 punts inside 20.

That plus his familiarity with new Giants head coach John Harbaugh was enough for New York to sign him to a three-year, $12.3 million contract this offseason and release Jamie Gillan.

Last season, Stout punted the ball 53 times and averaged a whopping 50.1 yards per punt. Normally, that type of average would mean more opportunities for returns from the opposition, but that simply wasn't the case.

For the season, he only allowed 159 return yards, and his net punt average was 41.2 yards per punt. Those types of numbers make Stout more than a punter; they make him a weapon.

Why He's Indispensable

Whenever a punter becomes a story, it is normally for negative reasons. They shank the punt, they have a punt blocked, or they don't get enough hang time, making it easy for the return man to gain yardage.

But when a punter is doing their job correctly, no one talks about their contribution, and that really needs to change.

You see the impact everywhere, especially in the average starting position of the opponent. That is what makes a guy like Stout so indispensable. His ability to flip the field and force the opposition to put together a legitimate drive in order to score a touchdown is extremely valuable.

The ability to get a team backed up in their own end zone and force them to play defense on the other side of the 50 is vital.

When you have a punter like that, you may not talk about it, but you know how much they mean to the team. When you don't have one, you certainly wish you did. Fortunately for the Giants, they have one now.

What Happens if He’s Missing from the Lineup?

Most teams don't carry multiple punters, so if Stout is missing from action, the Giants have to audition punters to take his place.

These are guys they don't know will be consistent, or whether or not they have the requisite hang time and leg strength to do the things Stout is able to do when he's at his best.

The field position game gets lost when the punter is out, and you're relying on an emergency replacement.

For reference, last year the Giants' opponents’ average starting field position following a punt return was their own 27.8, the second-worst average in the league, only behind the New Orleans Saints.

The Ravens, by contrast, ranked ninth, their opponents’ average starting field position being their own 22.5.

Yes, the coverage does play a part in it, but it all starts with the leg of a team’s punter strategically putting the ball where it needs to be.

Stout's consistency to be among the leaders in almost every positive category for punters is phenomenal. He not only possesses the power but also the hang time and accuracy to shape the football any way he wants on punts. That level of control is something that you don't get from every punter.

Looking Ahead

In 2026, the hope is that we don't discuss Stout at all. The more he's able to operate in anonymity, the better job he is doing. If we are discussing him a lot, it should be for his ability to crank out 70-plus-yard punts or his ability to pin teams inside the 20 and avoid touchbacks.

Over his four seasons, there have been exactly 100 punts inside the 20-yard line. Compare that to only 24 touchbacks. That's a phenomenal ratio.

The good thing about Stout is that you rarely encounter much negativity in his game. Therefore, he becomes an extremely reliable asset to help flip the field when the Giants do need to punt.

Mistake-free is the name of the game for punters as they try to put the team in the best position possible to succeed.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news, and send your mailbag questions to us.

Add us as a preferred source on Google