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theramswire.usatoday.com] How do the Rams plan to replace Johnny Hekker?
Cameron DaSilva
April 4, 2022 12:37 pm PT
For all the departures the Rams have had this offseason, they have yet to replace a single one. Sure, Bobby Wagner is an upgrade at inside linebacker and Allen Robinson was brought in so that the Rams could trade Robert Woods, but the Rams haven’t signed anyone to replace Von Miller, Darious Williams or Sebastian Joseph-Day.
They also haven’t done anything to address the void at punter after cutting Johnny Hekker last month. The Rams don’t have a single punter on the roster and the free-agent pool is drying up.
Many thought they would simply bring back Corey Bojorquez, but the Browns signed him on Monday, taking the top punter left off the market.
So, how does Los Angeles plan to replace its Pro Bowl punter? Probably in the draft or by signing a rookie free agent. Among the players left in free agency are Riley Dixon, Thomas Morstead, Kevin Huber and Michael Palardy. None of them are better than Hekker, so that’s not a path to upgrading.
In the draft, the top option is unquestionably Matt Araiza out of San Diego State. He could go as early as the fifth or sixth round after doubling as the Aztec’s punter and kicker in 2021. He made 18 of 28 field goal attempts and all 45 of his PATs, also booting 79 punts for 4,044 yards – an average of 51.2 yards per punt. Of his 79 punts, 18 of them went for at least 60 yards and two of them were 80-plus.
He has a powerful leg that will make him a mid-round target for some team, and with the Rams having seven Day 3 picks, he could be on their radar. Honestly, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to just draft him in the fifth or sixth round, either.
Jordan Stout out of Penn State is another option in the draft, as is Jake Camarda. Though, neither is as powerful as Araiza. Once the draft wraps up, Blake Hayes and Trenton Gill could also be options, assuming they’re not selected in the seventh round.
The Rams had Brandon Wright on their practice squad at the end of the 2020 season and gave him a futures contract to spend last offseason with them, but he was waived in August. Wright has since been drafted by the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL, but might he be interested in another opportunity with the Rams this year?
Punter may not be the most important position on the field, but it shouldn’t be ignored, either. The Rams probably have a plan at that spot, we just may not know what it is until the end of April.
