Ryan Donahue, NFL P/K drafted

[HawkinGoferLand]

I think I researched this correctly: No Punters were drafted in this year's NFL draft, although Matt Bosher out of Miami handled both P/K in college. Another kicker, Alex Henery of Neb was taken as well.

Punters are not generally drafted high, and maybe only 1-3 are drafted in a given year. There are only 32 punting positions available in NFL after all. Teams don't carry a back-up punter on the roster, obviously. And I doubt they place a 2nd punter on the practice squad either.

I wonder what affect the Lock-out had on drafting specialists, such as punters? Did it push teams more toward drafting offensive and defensive players.

Ryan will have his chance to work-out for teams as a Free Agent after the lock-out ends. I hope he finds a home on an NFL roster. Must be someone who needs a punter!

 

[ICHawk24]

I would guess that the lockout pushed them away from specialists. Who cares if you have your rookie punter wrapped up during the next 2 months of nothingness. But if you have that DT you wanted, that can change your team's thinking in the next 2 months. Teams frequently sign a punter during the week and start him on Sunday, you can't do that with any other position.