The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Punter, returner still up for grabs
Battle for special teams roster spots heads to final exhibition game.
FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams is overseeing two important position battles — punter and punt returner — that will be key in shaping the team in 2021.
Punters Dom Maggio and Cameron Nizialek, who punted at Columbia and Georgia, respectively, are vying to replace Sterling Hofrichter, who’s on injured reserve.
Chris Rowland and Avery Williams are competing to be the punt returner as the Falcons, under first-year coach Arthur Smith, attempt to upgrade special teams.
The Falcons have Cordarrelle Patterson, a four-time Pro Bowl player, in place to handle the kickoff returns. But with Patterson serving as the second-string running back, Williams also could earn some action as the kickoff returner.
Maggio, who was coming off an undisclosed injury, has two punts for 102 yards (44.5 net averaged), with a long of 51 yards, in the exhibition season. Nizialek has six punts for 324 yards (36.5 net average), with a long of 60 yards.
“Just continual growth,” Marquice Williams said about the punter competition. “Applying what they are learning from the meeting rooms, individual drills, team sessions and continuing to apply it within gamelike situations.”
The punters are getting rushed at practice in addition to live rushes in games to simulate pressure.
Maggio was signed by the Ravens following the 2020 NFL draft and was released by the team the following Aug. 1.
Maggio played in 52 games at Wake Forest, where he finished second in school history with 291 punts for 12,703 yards. Maggio recorded 101 career punts inside the 20 and had a career-long of 80 yards and finished with a 43.7 career average, which ranks third in school history.
Maggio was named second-team ALL-ACC and nominated for the Ray Guy Award as a senior in 2019.
“Both punters have been working their (expletive) off when it comes to in the classroom and meeting room,” Williams said. “(The team is looking at) how they handle the situations at practice. Being able to punt at practices for multiple practices. We might have one guy punt one period and one guy punt the other period.”
After Hofrichter suffered an injury, Nizialek won a punt-off competition against Colby Wadman (California-davis) and Matt Wile (Michigan) when the three worked out for the team Aug. 2.
Hofrichter was drafted in the seventh round of the 2020 draft out of Syracuse and had a shaky rookie season.
“After finishing 31st in gross punting value, Hofrichter’s job is on the line,” Thomas Bassinger wrote in the Football Outsiders Almanac 2021 preview.
Maggio and Nizialek could get some action in the exhibition finale against the Browns on Sunday.
“When they’ve been on the field, they’ve been handling their opportunities to punt and doing a good job with it,” Williams said. “Again, they have a lot of room to improve. I’m excited for both guys when it comes to this opportunity.”
Directional punting and hang time will be factored in with distance to determine the winner.
“With directional punting, the more direction you get, you might lose distance,” Williams said. “You might gain hang time. It’s a combination of those things, distance, hang time along with the direction.
“For us, most teams want to directional punt to pin guys in certain corners, but you’re going to lose something, whether you lose hang time or you lose distance. It’s just finding that good combination to help coordinate with our coverage units and our gunners.”
Avery Williams has two punt returns for 20 yards and Rowland two for 16. Williams has six kickoff returns for 164 yards (27.3 yards per return). Rowland has three kickoff returns for 50 yards (16.7). Wide receiver Trevor Davis has a return for 25 yards.
“All of the returners have been improving on the basic fundamentals, catch-mechanics and understanding the new scheme and how we are blocking stuff up including CP himself,” Marquice Williams said. “They’ve been doing a great job of working at their basic fundamentals.”
The Falcons also are looking for kickoff and punt coverage players. Outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo, who was released in July after a child-endangerment case was brought to the team’s attention, was expected to be a major contributor on special teams.
Williams is looking for viable replacements.
“When it comes to the gunners and the other speed positions, we are playing a lot of different guys,” Williams said. “We are getting guys a lot of different looks at different positions and seeing what fits well going up into the season.”