One Viking Had a “Sophomore Slump” in 2023
Undrafted free agent signings have become somewhat of a specialty for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
The most prominent of these UDFAs is, of course, LB Ivan Pace, who emerged as a starter for the Vikings defense during his rookie season last fall. However, there have been plenty of other key additions to the team through the UDFA process, including punter Ryan Wright.
The punter had a fantastic rookie campaign, but he was not nearly as efficient in 2023. Last week, special teams coordinator Matt Daniels spoke to the media about Wright.
Can Vikings Punter Ryan Wright Get Back to His 2022 Form?
Daniels said to the media regarding his punter, “You look at the season that Mr. Wright had, and obviously there’s always, after you come off a rookie season […] especially those who have success in the first year like Mr. Wright did, either A) you’re gonna continue to accelerate on the path that you’re on or B) you’re gonna have what’s considered to be a sophomore slump. And I would consider the performance that he did have last year was somewhat of a sophomore slump.”
Wright spent his collegiate years at Tulane before joining the Vikings during the spring of 2022. During his four seasons as the punter with the Green Wave, Wright had a total of 200 punts, which he booted for an average of 44.5 yards.
During 2021, Wright’s final season at Tulane, he had a net yards per punt average of 44.6 yards, which ranked third in the FBS among 123 punters with at least 30 attempts, per PFF. Thus, the Vikings gave him a contract and the punting job as a rookie, usurping veteran Jordan Berry in the process.
It proved to be the correct decision as Wright punted 73 times for the Vikings in 2022, and only one punt went for a touchback. His touchback percentage of 1.4% was the best in the league. Meanwhile, his 32 punts inside the 20-yard line tied for the fourth-most in the NFL.
Those rankings almost entirely flipped during the 2023 season. Wright’s touchback percentage of 11.9% tied for the third-worst in the NFL while his 17 punts inside the 20 tied for 29th.
Daniels is holding out hope for a bounce-back season in 2024, though. “Some good conversation has been had. We’ve really been turning a true intentional focus in some of the things that we’re coming out here to do in terms of our lines, our drops, ball contact that we’re making.”
The special teams coordinator went on to explain some of the different situations that he’s been trying to simulate with Wright throughout the spring to make each punt feel more game-like. In the end, the hope is that this intentional purpose with each workout can get the punter back to being an All-Pro caliber player at the position.
“I think that’s kind of been a new addition that’s been really good for him,” Daniels stated.
Obviously, the hope for the Vikings is that Wright doesn’t have to see the field very often. However, when he inevitably does have to punt the ball away, he needs to be great at flipping field position to make things difficult for opponents. We’ll soon see if the adjustments in practice can help.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
