Cincinnati Bengals land an undrafted free agent who should've been picked in the NFL Draft

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By John Sheeran | Last updated 4/29/24

A wise man once said that punters are people too. They can also be draft picks, contrary to what the 2024 NFL Draft showed us this past weekend.

Only one punter was taken in this year's draft as Iowa's Troy Taylor was selected in the fourth round by the Chicago Bears.

Another punter had a great case of being drafted around that time, and the Cincinnati Bengals were able to secure him without even using a draft pick.

Bengals signing Texas Tech P Austin McNamara as a UDFA looks like a steal

As one of the Bengals' 14 reported undrafted free agent signings, former Texas Tech punter Austin McNamara had the resume of a punter who should've heard his name called during the draft.

According to the data scientists behind Puntalytics, the numbers supported McNamara for not only being drafted, but being drafted as high as the fifth round.

"[McNamara's] 0.51 open field score in 2021 is tantalizing. Yes it was only on 27 punts, but an open field score that high is enough to get us to forget about our high volume preference. That number isn’t buoyed by long bouncing punts either as one third of those punts were fair caught (three times more than the typical draftable punter) and over 48 yards. ... He should be drafted and could go as high as the 5th round."

Bengals UDFA Punter comes with high praise from @ThePuntRunts https://t.co/up06NOYbG5 pic.twitter.com/1mYDTNByOt
— Jake Liscow (@JakeLiscow) April 28, 2024

The NFL didn't bite after Taylor went off the board early in the fourth round as McNamara had to wait until undrafted free agency kicked into full gear. The Bengals made him an offer, and McNamara is coming to town for good reason.

Cincinnati did draft a punter last year by selecting Brad Robbins in the sixth round. Robbins underwhelmed as a rookie in 2023, specifically his net average of 40.3 yards and average hang time of 4.24 seconds, which has led to the upcoming offseason battle he'll have with McNamara.

Despite their difference in actual draft status, McNamara looks to be the better overall talent of the two. Cincinnati will certainly give him every chance to beat out Robbins for the job.

If there's any UDFA set to make an impact for the Bengals this season, McNamara is undoubtedly that guy.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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