Do the Vikings Have a Punting Problem?
During the offseason, Minnesota decided to forego a punter competition. Do the Vikings regret that decision?
Incumbent Ryan Wright — nicknamed Mr. Wright & The Stallion by special teams coordinator Matt Daniels — was coming off of an impressive rookie season. An UDFA, Wright proved superior to the veteran Jordan Berry, forcing Minnesota to give him a roster spot in 2022. In the end, the decision looked prudent; Wright averaged 47.4 yards per punt while being responsible for just a single, lonely touchback.
Fast forward a year and things aren’t quite as optimistic.
To his credit, Wright’s yards-per-punt has improved, climbing up to 48.4. Distance, though, isn’t everything. The primary goal for a punter is to give his squad great field position. If the punts are sailing further down the field but not resulting in better field position, then there isn’t too much reason for applause.
In 2023, the Vikings are living through the reality of longer punts but they aren’t being rewarded with the field position they’ve been hoping for.
Do the Vikings Have a Punter Problem?
Matt Daniels is charming in press conferences.
His charisma and passion for special teams are infectious. And, of course, his love of nicknames has been noticed and celebrated on PurplePTSD. One has to think that the young coordinator has been putting in some extra work trying to get his punter back to his rookie performance.
Wright punted the football 73 times in 2022. Just the single time did the punter drill the ball into the endzone. The percentage nerds should know that that means 1.4% of Wright’s 2022 punts resulted in a touchback.
What about 2023? Well, things are a touch more bleak.
Wright’s current number sits at 17.1%. He has seen 6 of his 35 punts go for touchbacks. A pair of them arrived in the Sunday Night Football game against the Broncos. When the margin for error is so small — Denver won by a single point — those plays linger in the minds of coaches, players, and fans.
Now, it’s worth remembering that punting and field position aren’t solely on the punter (even though he is playing a starring role). The gunners can tackle a returner for minimal gain or, better yet, stop the football before it can get into the endzone, thus forcing a team to march down the full length of the field for a score.
The Broncos game featured that precise scenario, folks. A pair of Ryan Wright punts resulted in a pair of touchbacks. The Vikings’ punter averaged 47.5 yards with his punts but the Vikings only gained an average of 27.5 yards of field position. See the issue?
Matt Daniels had the chance to take on a question about these moments in his Tuesday press conference. Part of the problem was Denver playing things well, but Daniels did mention that NaJee Thompson needs to get into a better position on his man. Essentially, don’t allow the Broncos player to get an angle that would allow for Minnesota’s gunner to get pushed into the endzone.
“It was a good ball by Mr. Wright, though,” Daniels was sure to add. The implication is that at least one of the Denver touchbacks shouldn’t be placed solely on Wright’s shoulders.
At 6’3″, 245, Ryan Wright looks like he should be playing along the defensive line or as a tight end. Instead, he’s drilling the football for the Vikings’ punt unit and holding the football when Greg Joseph steps up for a field goal. His job isn’t in jeopardy. Wright will continue holding down these responsibilities for 2023, both in the regular season and (potentially) the playoffs.
What the Vikings will be hoping for is some greater precision with the punts. The punter was able to land 32 of his 73 punts inside the 20 during the 2022 season, good for 43.8% of the time. Shift into 2023 and Wright is down to just 8 out of his 35 punts landing inside the 20, meaning Wright has gone down to 22.9%.
Playing so many backups on offense and defense — and at critical positions, no less — means Minnesota’s margin for error has grown incredibly thin. Seeing the punter up his game in the final third of the season is simply one way for the Vikings to pull off the unlikely scenario of overcoming their 1-4 start.
Minnesota and Chicago have the Monday Night Football game. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 CST.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.