Bryan Anger - 3rd Round Punter

[goldfishwars]

Anyone else think this might turn out to be a really good pick?

Looking back, it appears a lot of sites, draftniks and scouts had this guy pegged as a 3rd/4th rounder. It's probably not the shock we thought it was. Reading up on the guy, he could be the best punter prospect for a generation. He takes punting to an exact science in the same way some of the great QB's did with their position. He can boom it (60 yard average at the Shrine game), he can kick-off, he can increase hang-time if needed, he can drop it on a dime within behind the 20, which is his real expertise. He was awarded a most valuable freshman award, during his time at Cal - where their coach identified him as the reason for their improvement.

Anyone who watched the Superbowl, will have seen how important Steve Weatherford was to that team. If Jacksonville are expecting to punt the ball a lot next year, why not turn that into a tactical advantage?
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Thanks Duron Harmon!

[Senor Mortgage]

I think it was a solid move in general. I didn't know enough about him to be critical one way or another on Anger specifically but I agree that people are overly dismissive of the position. How many teams would gladly spend a first rounder if you could guarantee Lechler 2.0 or even a prime Scifers (who singlehandedly beat Peyton Manning in a playoff game)? Now I wouldn't spend a first without that guarantee but looking across the league, the era of plentiful quality kickers off the street is long gone. There is a dearth of kickers right now and teams are taking on retreads just to hold fort. Now guys like Buehler prove that they can bust too but its not a terrible idea.

[The-Beast]

League average punting has evolved to the point to where just about everybody can do it well enough to not be considered a detriment. Making the importance of eliteness at the position meaningless. No punter is worth a 3rd in todays NFL when the difference in ability in miniscule.
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[jrry32]

[c0insnap]

[ArodFanboy]

[chamilitary]

[Kellerman]

[bkobow05]

Me personally, I liked the pick. The kid is going to quickly join the upper-tier of punters in the league. His impact will be felt almost immediately by the Jags.
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#teamRico

[texans_uk]

Anyone who thinks punters aren't important haven't had Matt Turk on their roster.
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[jrry32]

I laughed at the pick but if Anger ends up being an elite Punter, it's a fine pick. The Jaguars run a very specialized directional Punting scheme and need a Punter with an accurate leg so he can place it where he's asked to best utilize their great gunners. If Anger is that guy, it will give their defense a major field position upper hand which makes a HUGE difference.
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[GaTechRavens]

[TomRalph]

Everyone loves to take shots at teams who make these 'WTF' picks but this could honestly turn out to be a steal.

Jags are obviously not 'powerhouses' on offense or defense so why not try and become elite at the ST aspect of the game?

Granted, the Raiders have had 2 of the best P/K for years and haven't really had much success as a result. The Jags are obviously trying to give Gabbert as much help as possible and if Anger can come in an help with the field position battle, it will certainly ease the pressure off Gabbert who was having to start from the 20 pretty much every single possession.

The only issue is, Anger has as much chance at busting as other highly drafted ST'ers like Alex Henery (who has done pretty well) and David Buelher (who busted, hard), its just as much as a gamble as taking any other position, but because of positional value, people want to bash the pick.
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[TomRalph]

[GaTechRavens]