Can LA Rams P Johnny Hekker lead NFL under ST Coach Bonamego

LA Rams punter Johnny Hekker enjoyed a good 2019 season. But look for him to lead the NFL in punting under special teams coordinator John Bonamego.

As LA Rams punter Johnny Hekker has done so often in the past, his 2019 season finished with him among the NFL’s top three punters in gross punting yards.  But the Rams did not help Hekker out on punting coverage, as he fell to seventh in the league in net punting yardage. That was the first time Hekker’s teammates allowed his booming kicks to be returned well enough to drop his net below his gross in NFL ranking.

Punting is so incredibly undervalued in the eyes of fans of the NFL.  The seven yards differential between the best punter to the worst in net punting among NFL rankings is 7.5 yards per exchange.  That translates into spotting the opponent 7.5 yards each time the ball changes hands twice. Winning that battle keeps a team’s defense and offense at an advantage. The greater that advantage, the more likely a team wins the game.

Jonh Bonamego came to the LA Rams from the Detroit Lions where he was their special team coordinator. Their punter, Sam Martin, was ranked 17th in the NFL in gross punting yardage. But when flipped to net yardage, Martin rose six places in the NFL ranking, losing just 3.5 yards from gross to net.  Applying that same level of coverage to Hekker’s punts, and he would rank second in the NFL in net punting yardage, rather than seventh.

Hekker historically kicks among the top three of the NFL in terms of gross punting yardage. And for most of that time, the Rams had done a fairly good job on punt coverage. But as the team struggled in so many places in 2019, punt coverage suffered as well. And surprisingly, he has ranked near the bottom of the NFL in hammering a coffin kick. That is the term used to describe a punt kicked out of bounds inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, neutralizing any chance for a return.

Conversely, the Detroit Lions ranked sixth in the NFL at punting the ball out of bounds inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, compared to the Rams ranking at 27th in the NFL. Punting that ball out of bounds inside the 20 gives the Rams defense huge momentum during the game.

Bonamego has improved the special teams play wherever he coaches.  For the Rams punting team, that is very good news. Hekker has a booming leg and can punt the ball nearly the length of the field. But kicking so far can lead to returns that sap the spirit out of a team. Hekker has plenty of leg strength to lead the NFL in punting. He’ll once more benefit from coverage to keep him atop the NFL.