Mann, Boyer, Hardee: NY Jets punting unit ready for 2021 challenge

From 2018-19, the New York Jets had one of the best special teams units in the NFL, led by special teams coordinator Brant Boyer. According to DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average, via Football Outsiders), the Jets had the NFL’s second-best special teams unit in 2018 and remained elite in 2019 as they ranked fourth. The 2020 season marked a fall from glory for Boyer and company. New York ranked 29th in special teams DVOA. Thus, a challenge is in order—one that arrives with the commencement of the 2021 NFL season. One of the core reasons for that massive tumble was the decline of the punting unit. Previously a terrifying group that caused harsh nightmares for opposing punt returns and special teams coordinators around the league, the once-proud unit devolved into a shell of the juggernaut it once was. The Jets dropped from fourth-best in punting DVOA in 2019 to third-worst in 2020, marking a poor start to the Braden Mann era. Somewhere down under, Lachlan Edwards must be chuckling. This unit’s brutal per