Patriots' Rookie Kickers: Locks to Make Roster?

There are fresh legs and then there's what the New England Patriots are doing. With their championship exploits partially built on clutch boots from Adam Vinatieri, the Patriots are preparing to roll rookies at both kicker and punter.

While New England does have long-tenured NFL kicking veteran Nick Folk on the roster, picking Chad Ryland in the fourth round of the last draft (their highest selection of a kicker since Terry Garcia in 1988) hints that at big plans for the Maryland alum. Two rounds later, New England took punter Bryce Baringer out of Michigan State to compete with the well-traveled Corliss Waitman. 

Should Ryland and Baringer prevail in the battle to make the original 53-man roster, they'll become the first drafted rookie special battery to collaborate since the 2000 Oakland Raiders began the respective lengthy terms of Sebastian Janikowski and Shane Lechler. 

Mike Reiss of ESPN spoke with special teams expert and consultant Jamie Kohl about the unusual set-up in Foxborough. Kohl preached patience in the leggy duo, even with a relative amount of fanfare surrounding their arrivals. 

“It’s not a talent thing," Kohl said. "The biggest thing is understanding the stadiums, understanding the wind flow in different environments. I know it sounds like that’s not as big of a deal, but when your job is to put a ball between 18 feet, six inch-wide (goal post), you have to become an expert at understanding ball flight, trajectory, rotation, and then being able to feel the stadiums and what’s going on.

“The hard part about kicking, punting, snapping, similar to golf, it’s more of an ‘over-the-course-of-time’ position. The difference in performance can be dramatic one day to the next, especially at the high school level."

Fortunately for the Patriots, Kohl believes that Ryland and Baringer are fully capable of justifying hearing their names called on draft day: the duo worked extensively with Kohl during the draft process.

"One of the main questions the Patriots and other teams had on Bryce and Chad, because we worked with them so much in January, February, March, and April this year, was, ‘Is what you saw similar to what they produced on their pro days and combine?’ That was where we had some value.”

Kohl offered a resounding yes to that import query. The duo then became two of the six specialists chosen over the course of the selection weekend: Baringer was the first of three punters chosen on day three while Ryland was the second kicker after San Francisco took Jake Moody on day two.

Landing in New England, Kohl says, will only help their professional development.

“A lot of (special teams success) comes down to coaching, to situations, and I hold the Patriots in super-high regard," Kohl said. They’ve done extremely well with their special teams and I know (head coach) Bill (Belichick) puts a big emphasis on it.

“That’s why I was excited to see Bryce and Chad, who I respect quite a bit, I know their journeys, which are similar, wind up there together.”

Special teams will be vital for a Patriots group still searching for offensive stability and consistent scoring while forcing opponents to make long treks to the end zone. 

Both Ryland and Baringer built up strong collegiate resumes in their respective locales. Ryland became the all-time leading scorer at Eastern Michigan before earning All-Big Ten honors in College Park. Baringer not only joined Ryland on the All-Big Ten ledger but also took home the most recent Eddleman–Fields Punter of the Year previously won by former Dallas Cowboys kicker Brett Maher and 2022 Baltimore Ravens choice Jordan Stout.

Ryland and Baringer previously collaborated at February's Senior Bowl showcase: alongside fellow freshman Foxborough arrival Malik Cunningham, they helped guide the National team coached by the Las Vegas Raiders' staff to a 27-10 victory on Mobile. With Baringer holding, Ryland converted 4-of-5 field goals and an extra point.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

More Patriots coverage from Sports Illustrated here.