Denver Broncos undrafted rookie spotlight on punter Max Duffy
The Denver Broncos decided to add an extra leg to the kicking competition this offseason by signing Australian punter Max Duffy.
Duffy is not your average punting prospect. He is a 28-year old rookie who spent three seasons in the Australian Football League. He also won the Ray Guy Award in 2019 at Kentucky, given to the nation’s top punter.
Though the Broncos were not necessarily looking to give Sam Martin any competition, they chose to bring Duffy in for a tryout following the first wave of undrafted free-agent signings. He was the only player given a contract out of that tryout, which including a couple of long-snappers.
Duffy played in 34 games for the Wildcats and punted the ball 151 times, finishing his college career with a 46.0-yard average.
After playing with the Detroit Lions for seven years, Martin came to Denver last season and appeared in all 16 games, punting the ball 65 times. He finished the season with a 46.8-yard average per kick, good for a tie for 10th place in the league in that category.
Some may see Duffy as a longshot, but plenty of Australian-born punters have succeeded in the NFL, including Darren Bennett, Mat McBriar, Brad Wing and Jordan Berry, to name a few.
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Chances of making the final roster (1-10 scale): 5
Five may be a high number, but there are plenty of reasons to see this happen.
For one, if the Broncos were 100 percent satisfied with the situation they have in Martin, why even host a tryout that also included one other punter? They weren’t obligated to sign another punter, so the fact that they did shows they see a chance for Duffy.
Though Duffy is already 28 years old, that is not old for a punter, especially one who is described as having an absolute cannon for a leg.
Most importantly, Duffy’s contract would be far more friendly than that of Martin and the team would save $2.3 million against the cap by cutting Martin at this point, now that the June 1 deadline has passed.
Martin is going to have his work cut out for him fending off the young Aussie this summer.