Most of the publicity for a team goes to the offense, defense or coaching staff. Rarely do special teams get a lot of attention unless they aren’t performing well.
That has happened often this season for the Minnesota Vikings, specifically with kicker Greg Joseph. Despite his five game-winning kicks this season, it’s the misses that have gotten the publicity.
One of the catalysts behind the success of both Joseph and punter Ryan Wright is long snapper Andrew DePaola.
He has been a quality long snapper for the Vikings during his three-year tenure here and it’s reflected in the PFF grades.
DePaola had the second-highest grade for all long snappers in both 2020 and 2021, and his top-graded performance this season was recognized this year with a Pro Bowl berth.
Sometimes, the little things add up and the consistency from DePaola has shown brightly this season.
After finishing 2020 and 2021 as the 2nd-highest-graded longsnapper, #Vikings longsnapper Andrew DePaola is currently the highest-graded longsnapper in 2022. Cool to see him get some recognition with the pro bowl nod this year.
— Nick Olson (@NickOlsonNFL) January 5, 2023