The LA Rams signed a gem in Cameron Dicker. But is he a kicker or punter?

After the LA Rams sealed up their 2022 NFL Draft class, the team wasted no time in signing a host of undrafted free agent rookies to the team to create depth, competition, and perhaps uncover prospects worth developing into larger and perhaps more significant roles for the team.

One such player who was signed after the draft ended was Texas Longhorns punter/kicker Cameron Dicker. Unlike such punters like Colorado State Ryan Stonehouse or Nevada Julian Diaz, Dicker never appeared on the radar screen. So our familiarity with this new addition to the LA Rams roster is a bit limited. But we will become more familiar over time. And, of course, researching this article has helped get that ball rolling.

For starters, we are very pleased to note that the signing of Dicker creates immediate competition for the punter role. While the LA Rams did what they needed to do in the off-season by signing veteran punter Riley Dixon, the lack of obvious competition in training camp was a bit concerning.  Now? I think that the competition for the punting will be hotly contested.

While Dicker did not hear his name called out during the 2022 NFL Draft, there were projections for him to be drafted as early as the fifth round.  All the while, he was projected as a placekicker, but he was a solid and accomplished punter in the last year of his college football career.  Not much in his book of business, you say? Well, that last chapter, where he starts punting for the Texans, will have you on the edge of your seat.

Punter or kicker for Dicker?

While some analysts made the same initial assessment of Dicker on the LA Rams roster as competing for a kicking role, the more research I’ve done on this young man leads me to believe that the Rams found one helluva punting diamond-in-the-rough. And the more that I compare that conclusion with the LA Rams’ need for a punter this year, the more I am convinced that is how this plays out.

While he was only a punter for one season, he was impressive. In fact, his 46.8 yards per punt was good enough to end up as the 11th-ranked punter in all of college football. And that was just his debut at the position. Why was he suddenly thrust into the punting role? He had to take over for injured punter Ryan Bujcevski on November 10, 2020, and never looked back. In fact, he did so well in his relief role that the job was his the following year.

That first year he punted just eight times for 349 yards for an average of 43.6 yards. Not bad for fresh off the bench, but not the sort of average that would normally attract the attention of NFL scouts as potential signings. And that is where we fell off the radar for many teams. But for the LA Rams? Ah, there’s the rub. They remained vigilant, more than happy to be patient and observe how this young man may perform in 2021.

Their patience was rewarded, as Dicker earned the starting punter role and proceed to punt 47 times for a total of 2,200 yards. That upped his average to an eyebrow-raising 46.8 and earned him a spot as a national semi-finalist for the very prestigious Ray Guy award. We’ll talk about that in a moment.

Ray Guy semi-finalist

The world of collegiate punting is not exactly an area of meticulous record-keeping in terms of statistics. Unless there was/is something special about the punter, the best you get is punting average. Thankfully, we have Sports Illustrated’s Matthew Postins and Texas Sports.com to thank for the excellent write-ups about Cameron Dicker’s nomination for the Ray Guy Award.

Per Matthew Postins on November 10, 2021?

1.   With 3 games remaining, Dicker punted nine times for 50 yards or longer.
2.   Against Oklahoma on October 9, 2021, Dicker boomed one punt for 78 yards.
3.   Against Oklahoma State on  October 16, 2021, Dicker boomed a punt for 77 yards.
4.   9 out of 35 punts were downed within the 20-yard line
5.   5 of 35 punts were downed within the 10-yard line

That’s pretty impressive. Even more impressive is that only three of his punts failed to go 40 yards, and one of those punts was blocked.  And this is all accomplished in his first full season of collegiate punting. So why did the LA Rams sign Dicker and not another unsigned punter/kicker?

For starters, the fact that  Dicker is both an accomplished placekicker and punter could eventually afford the LA Rams an emergency kicker on the roster if Dicker wins the job outright. For another thing, and perhaps more importantly, Dicker is still relatively raw in terms of his punting prowess. And yet, in just one year in college punting, he was in competition with San Diego State’s Matt Araiza, Michigan State’s Bryce Baringer, and Colorado State’s Ryan Stonehouse.

So what does Cameron Dicker have going for him?

Per Joe Cook of On3.com:

1. Very Strong leg
2. Versatile to cover multi special team roles (punter and kicker)
3. All-Conference punter.
4. Great hang time on punts allows the coverage unit to get there when the ball does.
5. Stocky build, unafraid to mix it up and tackle

All in all, I’m quite satisfied. I entered the 2022 NFL Draft hoping that the LA Rams would indeed address the punting position, and it’s clear that the LA Rams did their homework and landed an excellent prospect.

Did anyone have Cameron Dickers on their shopping list for the LA Rams at punter? I clearly dropped the ball. Of course, I have to be honest. I checked out the Top-10 at the position. I clearly never expected the Rams to sign the 11th-ranked punter. But now that they have, I’m very glad that they did.

Editor’s note: The LA Rams list Cameron Dicker as a punter, as per The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue.

So now we know.