PITTSFORD, N.Y. — There are not many starting jobs up for grabs as training camp begins, but punter might be the most interesting of that small group.
It's a battle between the incumbent Matt Haack and the rookie Matt Araiza.
Haack struggled during his first season with the Bills, with a net punting average of 37.6 per kick, 2nd to last in the NFL among qualifying punters.
Bills General Manager Brandon Beane was open and honest after the season that Haack's struggles would have him looking to add to the position, leading to drafting Araiza in the 6th round.
Here are the elements of this competition.
Haack clearly needs to improve punting the ball. History suggests that he won't get drastically better, having never ranked higher than 15th in the NFL in net punting throughout his five-year career. He has ranked 20th or worse in three of those five seasons.
However, Haack is one of the best holders in the NFL. While that may seem laughable and unimportant on the surface, Beane admitted that is why the Bills stuck with Haack last season, not wanting to disrupt a fantastic second year by kicker Tyler Bass.
On the flip side, Araiza comes in with an absolutely booming leg. He averaged 49.8 yards per punt last season at San Diego State, helping him earn the Ray Guy Award as college football's top punter.
The "Punt God" had six punts of 70+ yards, maxed out with a long of 86 yards!
What Araiza needs to work on is the hang time on his punts, shifting from the lower trajectory he used in college to a higher one that allows coverage units to get down the field.
Then there is the holding aspect, which Araiza has never done before in a game.
I believe this likely will boil down to Haack's leg vs. Araiza's hands.
Through OTAs and minicamp, we only saw these two kick a few days, with each having good and bad boots.
Haack was the only one to hold during the open sessions to the media.
The Bills highly value their draft picks and much like Bass a few years ago, I think they'll be willing to be patient with potential early growing pains from the rookie Araiza knowing the talent that could bring them long-term success.