Earliest you'd get a punter?
 

Several things are worth consideration.

1. Tommy Townsend was insanely good the last couple years.

2. Effective punting, especially with a defense as good as ours, is critical.

3. Matt Araiza was a top candidate at one point, but the Chiefs aren't even his first stop since his acquittal. He had a tryout with the Jets in 2023, and they didn't elect to sign him. So, he either got really good in the past year, or he's probably a replacement-level punter, and the Chiefs need a new one.

4. Forward to 20:00 of Brett Kollman's Q&A video:

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That leads to my question:

There's a couple really good punters in this class -- would you invest a pick in one? Would you take your chances in UDFA? Or are you comfortable rolling into the season with a potentially replacement-level punter.

Tommy Townsend was not insanely good the last couple of years. He was pretty much league average last season.

JFC :facepalm:

Why is this the 2nd time that a punter is being brought up this offseason?

We're not spending a draft pick on a ****ing punter.

We have the best punting prospect probably in history on the team already.

But he tried out for the Jets, and they didn't sign him, so clearly he sucks now!

UDFA

Drafting a Kicker is something maybe consider in the 5th onward. Drafting a Punter, on the other hand, is not something I'd ever consider. We don't need either though.

I mean we literally have a guy nicknamed Punt God and he's 23 and cost us a pack of bubble gum

Also - will LRZ be our back up/emergency punter, with his rugby experience?

I know Butker is a FA and will command the same / similar contract to Justin Tucker.

"In 2022, the Ravens signed Tucker to a four-year, $24 million contract extension (with $17.5 million guaranteed)."

2 years down the line from that deal, I'll bet we're looking at a $28MM / $20MM guaranteed across 4 years for Butker.

- SB winning/tying kicks
- SB record setting kick
- AFCCG winning/tying kicks
- Multiple clutch regular season kicks

I think he's probably on track to be a HOF kicker, and I think we hang on to him at least through this next contract window.

LRZ won't be on the roster for any meaningful games IMHO.

I wouldn't be so sure.

This team is pretty damn complete. There aren't a lot of areas on offense and defense that require a lot of draft capital.

Combine that with Toub having as much influence on roster construction as any ST coach in the league, and hey.

I think it would be wise for the team to snag another punter and have them battle it out in camp. I wouldn't put a ton of faith in Araiza. If he was an actual god at punting, he'd be on a roster.

OT, IOL, WR, RB and TE of the future......those all require draft capital.