2020 NFL Draft – Punter Rankings

Complete NFL Draft Rankings – P:

You are currently viewing the best punters in the 2020 NFL Draft. Our top punter prospects are selected after thousands of hours carefully scouting the best special teamers in college football. Even though no more than 3 will get selected in the draft, several will be signed as free agents, and many more will receive a training camp invite. Find who is worthy of a draft pick, and who is likely nothing more than a training camp body. Find draft sleepers, draft stars, who will be a bust, and who is being undervalued.

BNB Football is the best place for in-depth analysis of 2020 punter prospects at all levels of college football. To view other positions, follow the links below.

(Last Updated: April 15, 2020)

2020:  | QB | WR | RB | FB | TE | OT | G | C | DT | DE | OLB | ILB | S | CB | K | P | LS | OVERALL |

Of the four high-end punters in the draft with an average above 46 yards, Charlton is the only one who doesn’t consistently out kick his coverage. While his net average looks like he’s allowing some returnable kicks, game footage makes it look like that’s more on defenders messing up their lanes than anything else. Charlton gets as good of hang time as anyone in the class, has a very strong leg, and was quite consistent each of the last two years. He already a FG placeholder which is a nice plus, and is able to keep balls inside the 20 yard line.

2019 Stats

47.7 yards per punt, 28 inside-20, 5 touchbacks, 39.7% fair catch rate, 66 long, 0 blocked punts.

Some would think ranking Braden Mann as the #1 punter is a foregone conclusion, given he shattered the record for punting average as a junior, with an absurd 51.0 yards per kick. There is a significant problem though: He kicks line drives. Hang time is very low, giving plenty of time for big returns. Outpunting coverage in the NFL is a great way to turn the game around for the other team, and is a significant red flag. His leg power is undeniable and it’s possible that he’ll be able to improve his hangtime without sacrificing distance, but a 17.5% fair catch rate is horrible. Accuracy and directional punting are pretty good for Mann, and he handles kickoff duties.

2019 Stats

47.1 yards per punt, 26 inside-20, 4 touchbacks, 17.5% fair catch rate, 68 long, 1 blocked punt.

Alex Pechin is one of the best punters in FCS history, being an all-conference 1st team honoree all four years, while being a three time Football Scholar-Athlete of the year in his conference. On the field, Pechin led FCS in punting average and net average, while having a great ratio of punts downed inside the 20 to touchbacks (31:4). He has a fast enough kick that hasn’t been blocked, and has great touch to control his kicks. Directional punting could be improved, and he could work on his hang time. While he hasn’t had many problems with returnable kicks and doesn’t always outkick coverage, part of that is due to lesser competition and good special teams defense around him.

2019 Stats

47.3 yards per punt, 31 inside-20, 4 touchbacks, 30.8% fair catch rate, 70 long, 0 blocked punts.

Hofrichter is possibly the most accurate punter in the class, and gets great hang time on his punts. Over half of his punts this last year were fair caught, which is really solid for someone with a 44 yard average. Hofrichter is great at directional punts and pinning the ball deep without getting a touchback. Through the past two seasons, he has 55 punts pinned inside the 20 while only allowing 6 touchbacks. He has experience as a kickoff specialist and has a 50+ yard field goal on his resume, something most of this year’s kicker prospects can’t even say. His speed of his punts is above average, and the only issue is his below average leg strength, which lowers his ceiling.

2019 Stats

43.9 yards per punt, 29 inside-20, 2 touchbacks, 52.2% fair catch rate, 65 long, 0 blocked punts.

Michael Turk is a very big (6’1", 226 pounds of muscle) and very athletic punter with a big leg to boot. His size and athletic build suggest he can contribute in punt defense adequately if needed. He has NFL bloodlines and mental toughness, and certainly has enough leg to be a great punter. Accuracy is only average, and he isn’t the best at keeping the ball out of the end zone, but can be improved with time since he’s just a redshirt sophomore. The biggest issue is outkicking his coverage and allowing big returns.

2019 Stats

46.0 yards per punt, 32 inside-20, 6 touchbacks, 33.9% fair catch rate, 75 long, 0 blocked punts.

Complete draft rankings for 2020 – Punter

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2020: | QB | WR | RB | FB | TE | OT | G | C | DT | DE | OLB | ILB | S | CB | K | P | LS | OVERALL |

While the kicker class is disappointing, I really like the group of punters. To be fair, I always tend to like the punters more than I should, as only 2-3 will likely stick around for a considerable amount of time. In this class, we have 3 stars at the top who averaged over 47 yards per punt. When you look closer at the stats, Charlton did the best of the 3 at getting air as well as distance. Other accurate punters like Sterling Hofrichter have a chance to maintain an NFL career, while Michael Turk rounds out the top 5 with a powerful leg and surprising athleticism that a team or two might covet. Even beyond the top 5, there’s some more punters with good potential here. Unless your team has one of the better punters in the entire league, it might be worth looking at these guys as your long time specialist or at least as a training camp competition. These guys can really kick, and could steal some jobs in the preseason.