Buffalo Bills punter Corey Bojorquez on Hall of Fame punter Ray Guy.
By most metrics, Buffalo Bills punter Corey Bojorquez had a better season in 2019 than his first with the team, which was also an injury-shortened season.
His average punt was only 41.9 yards last season, but he had other positive metrics. Bojorquez had a team-record 34 punts inside the 20, and his 22.8 percent return rate was lowest in the NFL.
Bojorquez improved this season with the best in mind.
The 23-year-old kicker said his inspiration is the tip-top of the punting mountain Bojorquez told the Buffalo News. It took Ray Guy 28 years to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he became the only punter to make it there eventually. That’s who Bojorquez keeps in mind with his kicks.
“Ray Guy said it’s not how far you can kick it, it’s how effective you kick it,” he said.
A proper mindset for the punter to have. While Bojorquez had a solid second season, he does know he has things to work on still as well.
“There’s definitely some things I want to improve on but overall it wasn’t too bad,” Bojorquez added.
With that in mind, Kaare Vedvik was signed by the Bills this offseason. He’s a rare mix of punter and kicker. Vedvik has jumped around the NFL and does have promise. After signing with the team, the Bills made sure to announce Vedvik is competing with Bojorquez, not place kicker Stephen Hauschka.
That battle through training camp will be a winner takes all, of course. But Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott likely wants to see Bojorquez retain his job and take his game to the next level. McDermott likes to take any little advantage he can get in games.
A solid punter is one, but Bojorquez being a lefty is another.
That does play a part. The ball spins differently off a left foot than a right foot, sometimes making things harder for an opposing punt returner. But that doesn’t mean the Bills will just settle for any old punter, as Colton Schmidt learned.
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