NFL draft: Punter alert! 49ers take first specialist, with Utah punter in fourth round
It’s always a bit jarring, amid the picks of cornerbacks running 4.4 40-yard dashes and offensive linemen weighing 310 pounds, to see a kicker or punter come off the board early.
The first one to jump in that pool this year was the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers took Utah punter Mitch Wishnowsky early in the fourth round, with the 110th overall pick.
[Join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Football league for free today]
It’s a bit early, even though it’s not nearly as egregious as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers picking kicker Roberto Aguayo in the second round a few years ago. As we found last season, drafting a punter can pay dividends.
And it was a good day overall for Utah specialists: The second one off the board on Saturday was Utah kicker Matt Gay, who went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round.
Drafting a punter paid off for the Seahawks
Last year, the Seattle Seahawks took Texas punter Michael Dickson in the fifth round. It worked out marvelously.
The Seahawks made the playoffs last season, and Dickson was a big part of that. He averaged 48.2 yards per punt, made a Pro Bowl and was named first-team All-Pro as a rookie. He became a legitimate weapon for Seattle.
Wishnowsky probably won’t have that type of impact as a rookie, because few players do. But the 49ers might have seen how their division rival benefited last year, and decided it’s not so bad to take a punter on Day 3.
Mitch Wishnowsky was dominant at Utah
Wishnowsky has an interesting story. He’s big for a punter, at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds. He is from Perth, Australia, and was on the reserves for Perth in the West Australian Football League in 2012.
He took up American football, ended up at Utah, and dominated there. Wishnowsky is the only three-time finalist for the Ray Guy Award, given to college football’s best punter. He won the award in 2016.
With any luck the 49ers found their punter for the next decade or so, and their investment was worth it.
– – – – – – –
Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
More from Yahoo Sports:
