Saints P Ryan Wright: Major Upgrade on Special Teams Is Our No. 20 Player in 2026

When you have a team that has been in the bottom 10 in scoring the past two seasons and you combine it with punters who have been in the bottom three, that equals a major advantage for opponents of the New Orleans Saints and one of the many reasons the team is a combined 11-23 over that timeframe.

What did Coach Kellen Moore and company do this offseason besides provide quarterback Tyler Shough with a better supporting cast? He also upgraded his special teams, and that includes bringing in Ryan Wright from the Minnesota Vikings on a four-year, $14 million deal that makes him one of the highest-paid punters in the NFL.

Of the 33 players with at least 22 punts last season, Saints’ Kai Kroeger finished 30th with an average of 44.8, which was only slightly better than the team’s 2024 punter, Matthew Hayball at 44.0.

Net yards per punt were even worse at 37.3 last season, which was third-worst in the NFL.

Let’s dive into the No. 20 player of 2026:

Please share your thoughts on our Top 25 Saints Heading Into 2026 by emailing the Saints On SI Publisher and Beat Writer Jim Derry at jim@jimderry.com.

Why is Wright so important?

The Saints now go from third-worst in net punting to a guy who was 7.2 yards better than Kroger last year. That means, on average, Saints opponents were starting possessions at the 28.8-yard line in 2025, and if Wright’s numbers remain the same, it will be about the 21.

Major difference.

Wright’s yard-per-punt average has gone up from his rookie season of 2022 at 47.7 last year to 49.0 least year. His net-yards-per-punt is up from 42.5 to 44.5. For comparison, the Saints record for this category is 43.2 by Thomas Morstead in 2012 and 2018.

Wright’s strengths and weaknesses

The unquestioned strength of Ryan Wright is, well, his strength. As in leg strength. We’ve already gone through his stats, but his own size helps lead into that, as he is 6-3, 245 pounds.

Punter highlight! Ryan Wright booms a 77-yarder to the goal line. 🇬🇧 @NFLUKIRE

MINvsCLE on @nflnetwork
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/XBSMjllE1m
— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025

Wright also has improved greatly from his first couple of seasons at directional control, and has been much better as of late in pinning punts inside the 20 and allowing his gunners to get downfield.

If there is a weakness for one of the NFC’s elite at his position in 2025, it’s his consistency. Last year he had seven games with yards-per-punt over 50, but he had a few games with multiple net punts under 42.

Background

Wright was born June 1, 2000, in San Ramon, Calif., and just turned 26 years old this week. Coming out of San Ramon High School, he was ranked by On3 as the nation’s fourth-best punter. He was ranked fifth by 247 Sports and ninth by ESPN.

Happy birthday, Ryan Wright! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/b2bSRIglmN
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 1, 2026

He also was the starting quarterback at San Ramon in his junior and senior seasons and lettered in baseball.

Wright, who visited only Tulane during recruiting, was named a Freshman All-American by 247 Sports, and he wasn’t even the team’s starting punter in the beginning of the season. He played in 47 games in college and averaged 44.5 yards per punt throughout his collegiate career.

The rest of the Top 25 so far …

25, RET Barion Brown, June 2

24, DE Bryan Bresee, June 3

23, DT Davon Godchaux, June 4

22, S Jonas Sanker, June 5

21, RB Alvin Kamara, June 6

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