New England Patriots have ended a 23-year wait by snapping-up a punter and a kicker in the same NFL Draft.
The AFC East franchise drafted Maryland kicker Chad Ryland after trading up for the 112th pick in the fourth round on Day 3 on Sunday. And they then got their hands on Michigan state punter Bryce Baringer two rounds later at No 192 overall.
The last time an NFL team selected a punter and a kicker in the same Draft was back in 2000 as the Oakland Raiders picked Sebastian Janikowski in Round 1 and Shane Lechler in Round 4. Janikowski went on to hold down the role of starting kicker at the team for 17 seasons, while Lechler earned six first-team All-Pro selections.
“I think when you look at cold weather like that, obviously not the most ideal conditions to kick a football,” Ryland said in his first conference call on Saturday as he spoke about the New England weather.
“Not a lot of people want to kick in that, but I do. I’m a cold weather guy. I like the cold. I like the wind. For me, it’s that challenge of bring it on.”
Baringer shared his new team-mate’s sentiments as he continued: “I feel good [about kicking in the cold.] Thankfully, just being from the Midwest and from Michigan, I’ve been able to have the chance to play in some snow games. We did last year, or two years ago, excuse me against Penn State, some really windy game. So hopefully I’ll be able to bring that knowledge out to Foxborough.”
And Baringer added: “Obviously, there’s a lot that goes into kicking in those conditions. So the challenge of doing that happened to really develop in terms of ball striking, understanding conditions and just everything that comes with it. I love it. Like I don’t shy away from it. It certainly has helped me develop into the kicker I am today. So long story short, I guess I’m thankful for adverse conditions like that.”
The Patriots are the joint most successful franchise in NFL history alongside the Pittsburgh Steelers, with both teams winning the Super Bowl on six occasions. Those six victories for the Patriots have all come since the turn of the century, while they have also appeared in three other Super Bowls this millennium.
But the team will be looking for vast improvements in 2023 as they missed out on a place in the AFC play-offs last season after winning just eight of their matches.
