Former Marietta standout is top special-teams draft prospect. Here are the rest.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

3. Ben Sauls, Pittsburgh, 5-10, 185: Sauls played in 53 games and made 52 of 64 field-goal attempts (81.3%). He tied a school-record when he made a 58-yard field goal in a win over California in Week 6 of last season.

4. Gino Garcia, Texas Tech, 6-2, 215: He ended his career with three of the school’s 10 longest field goals. Garcia had three field goals of at least 53 yards.

5. Tyler Loop, Arizona, 6-1, 190: Loop boomed a 62-yard school-record field goal against Houston on Nov. 14, 2024.

Punters

1. James Burnip, Alabama, 6-6, 236: Burnip averaged 43.9 yards per punt over his career. He had 203 career punts and 8,904 yards.

2. Jeremy Crawshaw, Florida, 6-4, 205: Australian punter Crawshaw was a four-year starter. He made 59 punts for 2,699 yards (45.75 average) last season, with 25 punts falling inside of the opponents’ 20-yard line.

3. Oscar Chapman, Auburn, 6-3, 197: Chapman averaged 43.5 yards per punt over five seasons with the Tigers. He drew a big crowd of scouts at the Tigers’ Pro Day.

4. Luke Elzinga, Oklahoma, 6-4, 229: Elzinga started his career at Central Michigan. Over 55 games, he had 232 punts for 10,051 yards (43.3 average). He had 47 punts of 50 yards or more.

5. Alex Mastromanno, Florida State, 6-1, 241: He set a school record by appearing in 59 games, including all 12 last season. Mastromanno is Florida State’s career leader in punts (252), punting yards (11,304) and punt average (44.9).

Returners

1. Matthew Golden, Texas, 5-11, 191: This first-round pick will be a threat to run kickoffs back with his 4.29 speed in the 40-yard dash.

2. Tory Horton, Colorado State, 6-2, 196: A A dangerous punt returner with three career touchdowns, Horton finished last season with an 86.4 Pro Football Focus punt-return grade, which ranked seventh in the draft class.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

3. Alijah Huzzie, North Carolina, 5-10, 195: The Heard County product started his career at East Tennessee. He has 36 career punt returns for 453 yards and two touchdowns.

4. Emeka Eqbuka, Ohio State, 6-1, 202: Eqbuka returned 22 kickoffs for 624 yards (28.4 yard per return).

5. Ricky White III, Michigan State/UNLV, 6-1, 190: (Special teamer not a returner.) He helped Marietta win the Class 7A state title in 2019 under coach Richard Morgan, but started his high school career at Wheeler. He had a 91.9 Pro Football Focus special-teams grade in 2024, which was the highest for a college player in six seasons, He blocked four points.

Best of the rest

Louisiana-Lafayette PK Kenneth Almendares (2024 Lou Groza winner); South Carolina P Kai Kroeger; USC P Eddie Czaplicki (2024 Ray Guy award winner); and Vanderbilt P Jesse Mirco.

Teams in need

Falcons, Rams, Ravens, Steelers, Browns and Vikings.

Need area for Falcons?

Yes. Kicker Younghoe Koo is coming off a subpar season that ended with him on injured reserve with a right hip injury. Punter Bradley Pinion had a career-low 38.3 yards net yards last season. Former Pro Bowl/All-Pro returner Jamal Agnew was signed in free agency after Avery Williams left for the Eagles.

2025 POSITION BY POSITION SERIES

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