Packers 2024 Preview: Specialists

[MaxPack]

Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images Kicker and long snapper are the positions that are up for grabs going into training camp. We’ve done it. We made it to our last positional preview of the offseason before the bullets really start to fly around when the pads come on. In this last piece, we’re going to discuss the team’s specialists: kicker, punter and long snapper. Special teams is not a forgotten phase of football for Green Bay Packers fans, as recent playoff losses have come from the assistance of that side of the ball. It seems like the team has pretty much figured out how to be at least average across the board...except at placekicker. We’ll get more into that in a second. As a reminder, here are the links to all of our previous positional previews in this series:

• May 13th: Quarterbacks
• May 14th: Running Backs
• May 15th: Receivers
• May 16th: Tight Ends
• May 17th: Offensive Linemen
• May 18th: Defensive Tackles
• May 19th: Defensive Ends
• May 20th: Linebackers
• May 21st: Cornerbacks
• May 22nd: Safeties
• May 23rd: Specialists

Kickers There are currently three kickers in Packers camp right now: Anders Carlson, Greg Joseph and Jack Podlesny. Carlson is the returning starter, as he started every game as Mason Crosby’s replacement during his rookie season last year. He was the third kicker taken in the 2023 NFL draft, coming off the board with the 207th overall pick. According to Pro Football Focus, Carlson had a 42.4 “FGXP” grade for the season during the regular season and postseason last year, which was good for the fourth-worst in the league behind just Lucas Harvrisik, Crosby and fellow rookie draft pick Chad Ryland. For perspective, the next lowest-graded kicker with as many field goal attempts as Carlson was Blake Grupe with a 60.8 grade. Clearly, the Packers are trying to push Carlson a little more than last year — when they cleared the roads for him in camp. The top contender to push for Carlson’s starting job is Greg Joseph, who PFF graded with a 64.2 FGXP grade last year, good for 26th among all kickers. This offseason, Joseph, formerly a Minnesota Viking, signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Packers that comes with zero guaranteed money on his new deal — but it does include a $117,500 Week 1 roster bonus if he’s able to make it through roster cuts. The often-forgotten man in this camp battle is second-year kicker Jack Podlesny, a former Georgia Bulldog who signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2023. Podlesny was cut in training camp by Minnesota and spent his rookie season out of the league. After the season, the Packers signed him to reserve/futures contract that pays him near the league minimum. During his final year in college, he was named the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Year and a First-Team All-SEC kicker. Punters This one is simple. Daniel Whelan is the only punter on Green Bay’s roster. Whelan was signed last season after he was named an All-XFL punter in the spring. He eventually beat out returning starter Pat O’Donnell for the team’s starting job. On the season, Whelan averaged 46.2 yards per punt over 57 punts and didn’t have a single punt blocked. At the moment, Whelan is on a one-year, $915,000 contract and the Packers hold his exclusive rights free agent option in 2025, which means he will be a cheap re-sign next offseason, too. There’s little reason for the team to look at other options at the position, as Whelan has proved himself to be a cost-effective NFL punter after his 2023 campaign. Long Snappers I’d be lying to you if I told you I knew a lot about long snapper play, but the two names here are Matt Orzech and Peter Bowden. Orzech joined the Packers last season via the Los Angeles Rams, where Orzech previously was the team’s starter and has a Super Bowl ring to show for it. When he signed last year, he received a $300,000 signing bonus on top of a salary that pays him out like a league-minimum player. Bowden, meanwhile, was considered by many to be the top long-snapper prospect in the 2024 draft class. He went undrafted, but he signed with the Packers on a deal that dished him out a guaranteed $5,000 signing bonus. Bowden is a hot name, considering his draft status and his background as a University of Wisconsin athlete, but the fact that Green Bay paid Orzech a signing bonus sixty times larger than Bowden’s probably means that Orzech has the edge going into training camp.

https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2024 ... ter-bowden