The Los Angeles Rams released their greatest punter in Ram history after their Super Bowl Victor in Johnny Hekker which began the search for his replacement. Hekker was very special in so many ways and all of us will miss what he brought to the table, but now a new era in punting will begin and the Rams have settled on two men, one with experience and a similar background to Hekker and the other a decorated Kicker from the University of Texas that began punting the last year and a half and opened some eyes.

Riley Dixon seems like the perfect replacement, he’s a veteran that Special Teams Coach Joe DeCamillis drafted when he was with the Denver Broncos back in 2016. Dixon is similar to Hekker as an athlete, played QB in High School plus was a place kicker too at the Syracuse. Dixon has put up solid stats does a decent job of placing the football inside the 20 and is an upper echelon holder and I realize that does not seem like that is important, but Dixon has held for kickers that have been top shelf in Brandon McManus in Denver & Graham Gano with the New York Football Giants. Dixon IMO, might actually be an upgrade over Hekker as a Holder, which will ensure a smooth transition for Matt Gay, who was an all pro last year. One major knock on Dixon is he’s had 4 punts blocked in the last 5 years and IMO, that’s concerning, but Dixon does check all the other boxes plus DeCamillis knows him, which could be an asset too like Deep Snapper Matt Orzech.

Cameron Dicker made some huge kicks at Texas, I remember seeing Dicker as a freshman playing against rival Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, drilling a 45 yard field goal to win the game for the Longhorns and I felt he was going to be a very special kicker. Dicker was, but the constant turnover in Texas at Head Coach did not do him any favors, with the exception of in 2020 when the Texas punter went down with an injury and Dicker filled in for the last couple of games and did well enough to earn double duty this season and opened some eyes with a total of 55 punts overall with an average of 46.3 per punt. However, in his first full year as punter punted 47 times for 2,200 yards for an average of 46.8 yards per punt, the third-best single-season average in program history … had 16 punts of 50-plus yards, 11 punts inside the 20 and 21 fair catches. Dicker had one punt blocked, but in his only year punting was right up there with the top collegiate punters and was a Ray Guy semifinalist too.

Now some have posted this will not be a battle, that special teams coach Joe DeCamillis drafted Dixon and that Dicker will have an uphill battle, however, if Dicker can showcase the ability to have a bigger leg, he might be able to beat out Dixon especially because the Rams will have him longer and at a more affordable price. Dicker also offers a nice option at kicker if something happens to Gay,, but in fairness Dixon did place kick in college too and the Rams also need to see how Dicker handles being a holder as again some will think that is not a big deal, but Punter Cory Bojorquez struggled in that area and is one of the reasons they let him go in Buffalo and he is no longer in Green Bay, so it does factor in.

Overall, it should be an interesting battle and I am good either way. I watched quite a bit of Dixon with the New York Giants and after the release of Hekker I felt strongly because of the DeCamillis tie plus a similar background to Hekker right down to the red hair, Dixon would be on the Rams radar after his release and thus the Rams signed him. But there is quite a bit to like about Cameron Dicker, I felt he was special when I watched him kick and quite frankly I would be excited if he was able to win the job. Well, as excited one can get about a punter.