Raiders Top Five Opponents by Position: Kickers, Punters

Who said kickers aren’t real football players, who said there isn’t much threat by the placekicking unit?

Not us, as we continue to look into the Raiders matchups this season, we couldn’t forget to mention the kicking squad.

The punters can pin you back inside the 20-yard line, making it difficult to move the ball upfield.

And kickers can end any comeback by scoring the game-winning field goal with seconds remaining on the clock.

The Raiders will have a decent matchup against kicking units this year. While many focus solely on offense and defense, a great punter and/or kicker can make a difference.

As we narrow down the top five punters and kickers for this season, the Raiders will be looking at players who can bring pressure to stop these guys from making an impact on the game.

Kickers

At No. 5, we have Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus. While there are not many recognizable kickers around the league, McManus, a divisional rival, is no surprise to the Raiders. In 2019, McManus went 29-for-34 in field goals, fifth-most made. He would go 4-for-7 from beyond 50 plus yards and connected on 25-of-26 extra-point attempts.

The Raiders will see him twice this year in Week 10 and 17.

The next one up at No. 4 is Cleveland Browns punter Jamie “The Scottish Hammer” Gillan. This undrafted free agent came into the Browns organization and won the starting job at punter. As a rookie in 2019, Gillan averaged 46.2 gross yards per punt, tied for the 11th-best in the league. In Week 5 against the San Francisco 49ers, he punted a career-long, 71-yarder, tied for the fourth-longest punt last season. Gillan was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for September. The Raiders will see Gillan in their Week 8 matchup.

At No. 3 on our list is New Orleans Saints punter Thomas Morstead. The Raiders toughest matchup outside of their division has to be against the Saints. Morstead will be responsible for pushing the Raiders as far back as he can. Along with Gillan, Morstead averaged a 46.2 punt gross average. His longest punt last season was a 64-yarder. Most impressive was his 34 punts inside the 20-yard line, which came as 10th-best in the league. With an already tough matchup on offense, the Raiders will have to worry about Morstead after stopping the third down attack. In Week 2, the Raiders will host the Saints in their home opener in Las Vegas, and this game should be exciting.

At No. 2 is Morstead's teammate, Saints kicker Wil Lutz. Lutz comes in to add the finishing touches of Drew Brees touchdown drives, making 48-of-49 extra point attempts last season, the second-most made extra points. In 2019, Lutz went 32-of-36 field goals made, third-most made field goals, and was 3-for-5 from beyond 50 yards. At the end of the 2019 season, PFF gave Lutz a 76.3 grade, fourth-highest in the NFL. This Week 2 match-up is going to be interesting.

At the top of all punters and kickers this year is another divisional rival, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker. We are ranking him No. 1 for various reasons. Butker led the league with the most field goals made, going 34-for-38, missing only one under 49yards. He would also go 3-for-6 from 50 yards or more. Butker will finish of Patrick Mahomes' touchdown runs and passes, going 45-for-48 on extra point attempts, third-most in the NFL. According to PFF, the Raiders will see the seventh-best kicker in the NFL in Week 5 and 11.

Other notable kickers who missed the list this year are Carolina Panthers kicker Graham Gano, who is returning from injury, and Buffalo Bills kicker Stephen Hauschka, whose career is settling down.

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