New York Jets: Lac Edwards needs to take a big leap in production
New York Jets punter Lachlan Edwards was okay in 2017, but he need to take a huge leap forward in 2018 to be a part of the future in New York.
With a rookie quarterback likely to be a huge part of the 2018 season, there’s one member of the New York Jets that has to step up his game — Lac Edwards. Some may say he was a “top-10” punter in 2017, but that was in gross punt average. There are other stats that matter more.
His percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line (35.1 percent, 23rd in the NFL) and those that were fair caught (24.5 percent, 17th in the NFL) were in the middle of the pack. If the Jets do end up starting Sam Darnold, field position is going to be a key factor in how fast he can grow.
According to Pro Football Reference, the New York Jets opponents’ average starting position was the 28-yard line. A huge part of the opponents’ starting position was the inability to pin their opponents deep on punts.
On top of not getting the ball inside the 20 or forcing fair catches, they allowed 49 punts to be returned for an average of 10.0 yards per return. Sure, you can blame the coverage on some of this, but it’s mostly on the punter to give the coverage unit enough time to get to the punt returner.
You need a punter who can flip field position in order to win games. It’s not enough to be booming punts — Edwards had a 46.6 yards per punt average — but you need to be able to force the opponent into bad field position. It’s give the defense the ability to be more aggressive, potentially leading to more turnovers, and if they are forced to punt, likely better field position for your offense.
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The Jets need to have better field position in 2018 to be successful, especially if they start Darnold, and Edwards will be a key to that. If he doesn’t take the next step forward, they will be looking for a new punter in 2019.