Our 2023 NFL Draft positional preview series wraps up with kickers and punters. Both positions project as needs for the Patriots this year, but to varying degrees.
Punter is probably the bigger need of the two. After releasing Jake Bailey the team signed lefty Corliss Waitman, who led the NFL in punts last season. However that was his only season of NFL experience, and his inside-20 and touchback numbers ranked in the back half of the league. It’s not unrealistic to think the Patriots would at least bring in somebody to compete with him in camp.
Kickers
Nov 19, 2022; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines place kicker Jake Moody (13) kicks a field goal in the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Michigan Stadium. Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The important thing to remember when it comes to the Patriots and kickers – whether it’s in the draft or free agency – is they place a ton of value in experience kicking in inclement weather. In this draft, that shouldn’t limit their options too much.
Standing out among all the potential Patriots fits is Jake Moody from Michigan. The 2021 Lou Groza Award winner as the best kicker in the nation has hit 48 of his 52 attempts from within 50 yards over the last two years, including a 38-of-39 mark from within 40. Moody finished his college career a perfect 148-of-148 on extra points.
When it comes to the Patriots specifically, they got to work with Moody at the Shrine Bowl. He didn’t kick much in practice but was named the game’s MVP after going 4-for-4 on field goals including two hits from 51 yards. Moody is expected to be the first kicker off the board, and could go as high as the end of the fourth round.
If Moody doesn’t end up being the Patriots’ guy, Chad Ryland from Maryland is also a fit. Ryland spent the first four years of his college career at Eastern Michigan, as the starter for the Eagles. He was a bit erratic early in his career, but has settled down the last few years. Over the last three seasons he’s 49-of-58 on all field goal attempts, including a 19-of-26 mark from over 50 yards. Ryland kicked in this year’s Senior Bowl. Ryland is expected to go towards the middle of or late on Day 3.
Noah Ruggles from Ohio State is another Big Ten kicker who fits the Patriots’ mold. Over the last two years Ruggles has been busy kicking in the Buckeyes’ high-powered offense, and is a combined 37-of-39 overall while going 11-of-13 from over 40 yards. Ruggles is a projected late Day 3 pick.
If the Patriots choose to eschew the inclement weather approach this year, other top kickers in this year’s class include 2022 Lou Groza winner Christopher Dunn from North Carolina State, Andre Szmyt from Syracuse (played in a dome) who kicked at the Shrine Bowl, Jack Podlesny from Georgia who kicked in the Senior Bowl, Harrison Mevis from Missouri, and B.T. Potter from Clemson.
Punter
Oklahoma’s Michael Turk (37) punts during a Bedlam college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Oklahoma State University Cowboys (OSU) at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. Oklahoma won 28-13. (Bryan Terry/the Oklahoman/USA TODAY Network)
Not only did the Patriots work with arguably the best kicker in this year’s draft at the Shrine Bowl, but the top punter as well. Michael Turk from Oklahoma spent the week booming punts in front of Cam Achord and the Patriots’ coaching staff in Las Vegas. It seemed as though both sides appreciated working with each other.
The other punters expected to be selected in this draft are Adam Korsak from Rutgers and Bryce Baringer from Michigan State, who both took part in the Senior Bowl. Korsak is the reigning Ray Guy Award winner as the best punter in the nation. In five years as Rutgers’ starter, the Melbourne, Australia product set the NCAA record for punting yards in a career with 15,318. Some of his gaudy accomplishments from last year alone include only recording two touchbacks – the first of which ended a streak of 150 consecutive punts without a touchback over 27 games dating back to 2019, as well as leading a unit that held opponents to an average of negative 11 return yards while allowing just one positive return on 75 punts. He also led the nation with 32 punts downed inside the 20, and never had a single punt blocked over the course of his career.
Korsak had the finesse but Baringer’s power was overwhelming for opponents at times this year. He led the nation averaging 49 yards per punt, and his career 46 yards per punt are the most in Big Ten history and the sixth-most in NCAA history among qualifying punters. 40 percent of his career punts when over 50 yards, with 34 percent being downed inside the 20. He was the consensus first-team All-American punter in 2022.
Long snappers
Apr 17, 2021; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions long snapper Chris Stoll (91) looks on during the Penn State spring practice at Beaver Stadium. Credit: Mark Alberti-USA TODAY Sports
The Patriots just made Joe Cardona the highest-paid long snapper in the NFL, and also have a backup under contract for 2023 in Tucker Addington. It seems highly unlikely at best they’d add a long-snapper this year. That being said, we leave no stone unturned during the positional draft preview, so here we are.
Chris Stoll from Penn State is the only long snapper projected to be drafted this year. He won the Patrick Mannelly Award as the best long snapper in college football. Stoll was the Patriots’ long snapper at the Shrine Bowl. Alex Ward from UCF and Robert Soderholm from VMI, who were the long snappers at the Senior Bowl, and East team Shrine Bowl long snapper Matt Hembrough from Oklahoma State are all expected to go undrafted.
It’s not likely any of those players will be Patriots in the near future, but that is the top of the class. So maybe we didn’t learn much about the Patriots’ draft plan here, but at least you can now brag to your friends you know who the top long snappers in this year’s class are – if you’re into that sort of thing.
