Expect the Saints special teams to shine in 2022
By: Jake Rajala
The New Orleans Saints have a plethora of talent on offense and defense. Nonetheless, let’s not forget about the Saints unbelievable special team unit. The Saints possess a gifted undrafted kicker in Will Lutz and an unusually talented, undrafted punter in Blake Gillikin.
In the latest pre-season exhibition, the Saints kicker and punter blew away the audience. Lutz converted a career-long field goal attempt of 59 yards against the Pack. Gillikin even unleashed an 81-yard punt — which warranted a “random” drug test afterward. It would be an understatement to say the Saints have a lot of potential at their kicker and punter spot.
It’s clear that the Saints are delighted to have Lutz back in the lineup — after he missed the entire 2021 season. Lutz, who needs a cool nickname, has made one Pro Bowl in his career (which came in 2019). His best FG% of 93.3% arrived in 2018. His worst FG% of 82.1% came in 2020. Still, it’s clear that Lutz is healthy, hungry, and off to an excellent start in 2022.
Lutz – who really needs a cool nickname – will be a free agent in the 2024 off-season.
The Saints 24-year-old punter, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger of punters, ousted 83 punts and averaged 47.7 yards per punt in 2021. Furthermore, he won NFC special teams player of the month last October. It wouldn’t be an easy task for Gillikan to replace the mythical Thomas Morstead, but he surely did an admirable job last season. PFF slabbed him as the tenth-best punter a season ago.
The Saints didn’t only miss half their players on offense and defense (figuratively) last season, but they also desperately missed their kicker from Georgia State University. The Saints arguably lost their pivotal match-up against the Tennessee Titans due to Brian Johnson missing two extra attempts. Lutz’s consistency in converting extra points and long-range field goals will be a massive boost to the Saints winning chances moving forward. Of course, the Saints surprising dangerous punter will look to climb the ladder and make his first Pro Bowl in 2022, as well.
