Matt Araiza

1 – Punt God. Finished the 2021 season with an average of 51.19 yards per punt, breaking the NCAA record. Araiza had 79 punts and 4,044 punt yards that ...

Named the winner of the Ray Guy Award for the nation's best collegiate punter in 2021. Scroll through to view photos of P Matt Araiza, Buffalo's pick in the sixth round, 180th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Araiza is the first punter selected since John Nies in the sixth round of the 1990 NFL Draft.

Araiza has earned the nickname “Punt God” due to his booming leg. He's a bombs away style of punter, and has 80-yard boots to his credit in college. He holds ...

The Bills drafted PUNT GOD Matt Araiza to open the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The pick was obtained earlier in the draft during the trade back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 57 to 60 in the second round. Araiza has earned the nickname “Punt God” due to his booming leg. Araiza is firmly ahead of punter Matt Haack, who took a pay cut this offseason just to avoid being cut.

San Diego State punter Matt Araiza is going from the sunny skies of Southern California to the wintery winds of Buffalo, as the Bills selected him with the ...

Nonetheless, the "Punt God" is headed to the AFC East champions. His big leg led him to being named the 2021 Ray Guy Award (nation's top punter) winner and a first-team AP All-American. However, for all the pomp and ballyhoo surrounding the special teams immortal, he was the third punter selected in the draft, following Penn State's Jordan Stout to the Ravens (fourth round, No. 130) and Georgia's Jake Camarda to the Buccaneers (fourth round, No. 133).

San Diego State punter Matt Araiza goes to the Bills with the 180th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

In the NFL, since linemen can’t move past the line of scrimmage until the ball is kicked, putting the defenders in position with high-arching kicks is part of the job. But his ability to accurately place the ball is what is underrated, as Araiza can also pin an opponent inside the five-yard-line with alarming accuracy. But if there is one concern, it is increasing his hang time.

The Punt God has found a new home. The Buffalo Bills selected San Diego State punter Matt Araiza with the first pick of the sixth round of the 2022 NFL ...

After all, his presence on the field will mean the high-powered offense with Josh Allen at the controls didn't score. Throw in four tackles as someone who wasn't afraid to mix it up after kicking it, and there was little the 6'2", 200-pounder didn't do when the Aztecs' special teams were on the field. The Baltimore Ravens selected Penn State's Jordan Stout with the No. 25 pick of the fourth round, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose Georgia's Jake Camarda three picks later.

College football's 'Punt God' surprisingly wasn't the first punter taken in this year's draft.

Stout was one of the top punters in this year's class and it wasn't a total shocker to see him become the first punter taken. When it comes to punters, the bigger surprise is that the Buccaneers took Camarda over Araiza. The San Diego State punter was better than Camarda in almost every metric last season. One of the most important punting stats is net punting average and Araiza finished the year at 44.3, which ranked sixth in the country. But I know there are other players in the league who are told to just bang the ball as far as they can down the field, and the team is going to cover. Although he was the top punting prospect in the draft, Araiza ended up being the third punter selected. If a team is uncomfortable with your holding skills, that could absolutely lead you to dropping in the draft. "The coach I had for my first eight years in New Orleans, if I hit a punt over 55 yards, he was mad," Morstead said. Araiza was widely viewed as the top punting prospect after a 2021 college season that ended with him winning the Ray Guy award. It's not clear why Araiza dropped all the way down to the sixth round, but there are plenty of theories. Not only did he lead the nation in punting average with an FBS-record 51.4 yards per punt, but he also had six punts of at least 70 yards in 2021, which was the most in the country. The only other times it happened came in 1993 and 2007. The biggest surprise is that college football's top punter, Matt Araiza, wasn't the first punter off the board this year.

San Diego State junior is picked by the Buffalo Bills, but surprisingly is the third punter taken in the draft.

And it’s not because it’s Jordan Stout. I just mean Matt Araiza out of San Diego State is maybe the best punter I’ve seen in my lifetime and, yet, Baltimore likes Stout.” The signing bonus in that spot last year was $240,152. ... When you’re playing a field position battle, this guy will just flip the field and put the ball inside the other 20 with just one swing of his leg. It was not an issue in college, where everyone at the line can release downfield after the snap. Hang time was the primary concern for Araiza in the weeks and months leading up to the draft. After Stout’s selection was announced, an ESPN broadcaster said: “Not many things surprise me in the draft because you expect unpredictable things.

The “Punt God” has found a home in Buffalo. Shortly after the Bills selected Matt Araiza at No. 180 in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft on Saturday, ...

Before making a name for himself at SDSU as a junior, Araiza redshirted with the program and then moved to placekicking and kickoff duties during his freshman and sophomore seasons. “The people who know me know that I take things personally … I’ll have a lot of motivation to dominate this season,” Araiza said. The Ray Guy Award recipient averaged 51.2 yards per punt, which set a NCAA record.