3 underrated players that could follow Sean Payton to Broncos

Denver Broncos, Jared Cook - Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Denver Broncos, Jared Cook - Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 25: Blake Gillikin #4 of the New Orleans Saints walks onto the field for warm ups before their game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on September 25, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 25: Blake Gillikin #4 of the New Orleans Saints walks onto the field for warm ups before their game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on September 25, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Underrated players that can follow Sean Payton to Denver

Blake Gillikin, P

How about a new punter?  Could Sean Payton lure a solid right foot to the Broncos?  Blake Gillikin has been with the Saints in 2021 and 2022, and has averaged 47.0 yards per punt.  He’s got a long of 68 and a whopping 61 career punts inside the opponents’ 20 yard line.

He’s also 25 years old, so this could be a long-term move as well.

The Broncos, for some reason, cut Sam Martin in favor of Corliss Waitman for the 2022 season.  To be blunt, Waitman sucked and was horribly inconsistent.

Waitman had just 31% of his punts land inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, while Gillikin had 42% of punts do the same thing.

Gillikin also averaged just .2 fewer yards per punt than Waitman, even though Waitman had the luxury of punting in Denver, where balls tend to travel much farther.

Improving the special teams is something that should be near the top of the list for Sean Payton, and Blake Gillikin seems like someone who could help that.

Signing punters isn’t expensive, so this should not be a huge deal to make.

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