Michael Dickson may very well be the best punter to enter the NFL in years. The Seahawks just added a very dangerous weapon to their arsenal with a fifth round pick.
It isn’t often that you see punters drafted at all, especially before the seventh round. Three have gone in the fifth round already, and the Seahawks got the best in class by far in Michael Dickson. A junior from the University of Texas, Dickson is a native of Australia, where he played a lot of rugby and Aussie rules football.
If you never watched the Australian Football League at 2 am on ESPN back in the day, you really missed out. Just think of running back/linebacker hybrids that can all punt, and you’ll be close to the picture. I always rooted for Collingwood myself. No idea why, either.
Anyway, back to Michael Dickson. He had the third best punting average, 47.4 yards. So if he was third best in average, how is he the best punter? So very glad you asked. His net average was the best in the nation at 44.2 yards. That led the NCAA by nearly two yards. Of his 84 punts, exactly half (42) were downed inside the 20 yard line. He forced 33 fair catches, and only eight of his punts went for touchbacks. Maybe this is why the Seahawks picked him in the fifth round.
He had his best game on his biggest stage, and you have to like that. In the 2017 Texas Bowl, he punted 11 times. Doesn’t say much for the Longhorns offense, but it did turn into the Michael Dickson show. Of the 11 punts, he dropped seven inside the ten yard line. Four of those were downed inside the five. Guess who won the MVP? Not a lot of punters win bowl game MVPs.
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But the Seahawks already have a solid punter
Normally, you’re not going to get too excited about a punter. Especially when you already have a really good one in Jon Ryan. He isn’t exactly a slouch when it comes to punting himself, as he’s averaged 45.5, 44.0, and 45.0 yards per punt over the last three seasons. He’s only had one punt blocked in those three seasons, and has nailed punts over 70 yards, so he’s got plenty of leg.
However, it’s worth noting that Ryan had one of the lowest net averages in the league last year at 40.1 yards. Actually, that was 30th in the league. He’s also 36 years old, and is making $2.5 million per year. According to the invaluable spotrac.com, Dickson’s total contract will be just over $2.7 million, and he’ll be signed through 2022.
So you have a 36 year old guy making about four times as much money as a kid who shows every sign of being the best punter in the league. The net average aside, I love Jon Ryan. And yes, the NFL is whole ‘nother animal from college. But something tells me there may be changes afoot in Seattle.