Despite Post-Gazette beat writer Ed Bouchette's unhappiness with the decision to draft a punter, the Steelers' decision to spend a fourth-round pick on punter Daniel Sepulveda is paying off outstandingly well.Sepulveda has already stuck 24 punts inside the 20 yard line, more than twice as many as Chris Gardocki had in 2006 and is already as many as Gardocki had in any of his three seasons in Pittsburgh. In fact, Sepulveda is only a little bit off of the pace to break the Steelers' modern record of 35 punts downed inside the 20, set by Mark Royals in 1994 (as noted by Jim Wexell).
Sepulveda's new average of 37.5 yards per punt is also within striking distance of the Steelers record for net punting average of 39.2 yards, set by Gardocki in 2004.
But the most encouraging fact about these numbers is the realization that punters often make a pretty significant improvements as they gain NFL experience. It may not seem logical--punting is one aspect of the game that stays generally the same whether you're punting in high school or the NFL--but if you look at the league's best punters, they does seem to be at least anecdotal evidence that they show some significant improvement.
Andy Lee, the league's best punter this year, had a net average of 35.3 yards as a rookie, but improved it in every season since then, culminating in this season's 43.3 yard net average. Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt was pretty mediocre as a rookie (39.4 gross/35.4 net average), but in the two years since then he's been exceptional (45.1 gross/38.1 net) this season.
Punter has been one position the Steelers have struggled to find adequate players, much less stars. Sepulveda could finally end what's been a pretty significant drought at the position.
