If you were on the sports side of social media at all in the last year, there's a good chance you heard of someone called the "Punt God." That was the nickname of San Diego State punter Matt Araiza, who is currently with the Buffalo Bills.
Araiza, a rookie who was drafted in the sixth round, is in a battle to be the team's starting punter with Matt Haack, who is entering his sixth season in the NFL. But, there should be no debate.
The job should be Araiza's.
Someone doesn't just get the nickname "Punt God" for no reason. Last year, Araiza's third season playing in college, he put together an elite campaign, winning countless awards, including the Ray Guy Award, which goes to the nation's top punter.
Araiza is known for his monster leg, and against San Jose State last season, he had a punt that went 86 yards. The next game against Air Force, he had a long of 81 yards. In total, he had 39 punts that went 50 or more yards.
On Araiza's first and only punt of his first pre-season game, he showed off that leg power with an 82-yard punt that ended up being a touchback. Just like that, he was able to flip the field.
Araiza has some criticism about his air time on punts, which was four seconds on average in college, but his big-play ability - an unusual thing to say about a punter - makes it more than worth it for his hang time to be on the shorter side if it, in fact, is in the NFL.
Haack, who has a career-long punt of 65 yards, has been an NFL punter for a while. He has Araiza beat in the experience department. But Haack doesn't have the upside of someone like Araiza, who has the power to boom punts and change the field from virtually wherever he punts from.
For a team like the Bills, with hopes of going to the Super Bowl this season, one can see why they might be hesitant to give the keys to a rookie over a veteran. But Araiza isn't just any rookie. He has a chance to be someone special, and the Bills should not pass up the opportunity to keep the "Punt God."
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