By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos’ first practice is tomorrow, marking the official start of training camp. There are plenty of camp battles to watch. The next few days I will preview the most important ones, starting with the punter.
The Denver Broncos’ punter Britton Colquitt who has been in that position six years, struggled in the regular season last year. His average per punt was 43.6 yards and 22 of his punts were downed inside the 20. It seemed like anytime Colquitt would try to pin the opponents inside the 20, he kicked the ball right into the end zone for a touchback or the Broncos couldn’t down the football before the ball rolled into the end zone. It was the difference in field position. Instead of the opposing offense starting deep in their own territory, they would have the ball at the 20. There were times Colquitt didn’t even reach the 20-yard line. The punt returners would return the football to the 30 or 40 yard line for decent starting field position for the offense. When that occurred, the Broncos’ defense had to make a stand to make sure they wouldn’t score.
In the playoffs he improved. His average per punt was 46.6 yards, three more yards than the regular season. Colquitt had nine punts downed inside the 20 and only one went into the end zone for a touchback. Those punts gave the rival offense a longer field to go down and score. His punting ability helped the Denver Broncos win Super Bowl 50.
The Broncos decided to give Colquitt competition. They drafted Riley Dixon from Syracuse in the 7th round. Last year, Dixon average 43.6 yards per punt. 28 of his punts were downed inside the 20 while five rolled into the end zone. Dixon had one punt blocked.
This should be exciting to watch. Not many teams have a punting competition. The Broncos are paying Colquitt $3.25 million this season. They are hoping he can live up to that big contract. The way to do that is to earn the starting position. He has the experience, but if he doesn’t punt well and offenses are getting the ball in decent field position in preseason games, Dixon will have his chance.
Dixon is a rookie and will give Colquitt all he can handle. If Dixon can demonstrate that he is the better punter, he will end up with the job. In the end though I still think Colquitt wins. He showed last year in the playoffs what he is capable of. The Broncos are hoping to see that punter in the preseason. May the best punter win.
Who do you think wins the punting job between Britton Colquitt and Riley Dixon?
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