Punter shouldn't be something Jaguars fans talk about, finally

As we continue our series looking at each position on the roster and where the battles for those precious roster spots could be, we move on from kicker to punter. Typically, if you're having to talk about your punter then it's probably because they're bad. The Jacksonville Jaguars have spent too much time talking about their punter over the past four years, but that's not necessarily because Bryan Anger was bad, but because he was a third round pick.

Anger wasn't bad, but he wasn't good, and that's bad.

Punter:

Returning player(s): N/A
New player(s): Brad Nortman
Outgoing player(s): N/A
Bubble player(s): N/A

Brad Nortman was signed shockingly early in the 2016 NFL free agency period, which I think was just for the franchise to be able to rip off that punter bandaid and apply a new one as quick as possible. It became pretty clear the Jaguars weren't going to re-sign Anger, but they wanted to make sure to slam that door shut for the fans.

Nortman was originally a sixth round pick for the Carolina Panthers and spent the past four seasons with Carolina before signing with the Jaguars in free agency. He set franchise punting records, which are a real thing and not made up, for the Panthers in 2013. In the 2015 season Nortman was in the middle of the pack for net average (39.8), but ranked in the bottom third in punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Probably the biggest difference between Nortman and Anger was the difference in return yards, with Nortman having nearly half as many as Anger. That could be directional punting, hang time or just simply better coverage, but none-the-less that was one of the biggest issues with Anger, is that he left the coverage unit too susceptible to returns.