49ers rookie punter Mitch Wishnowsky will have an unusually bright spotlight on him after being taken in the fourth round of this year’s draft.
A slew of other needs were on the table for San Francisco, yet they selected the 27-year-old out of Utah to fill their opening at punter. Taking a punter wasn’t a bad idea in a vacuum. Justin Vogel was the only punter on the roster and he had just one year of experience in the NFL and hadn’t played since 2017.
Wishnowsky has already flashed his abilities as a directional punter, and his knack for pinning long kicks inside the 10, but Trent Taylor offered a new perspective on why the punter is a unique special teams weapon for the 49ers.
Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area relayed Taylor’s comments to media about Wishnowsky on Twitter:
Several observers at 49ers OTAs have noted the hang time on Wishnowsky’s kicks, although there hasn’t been an official time published.
Those high, arching punts take a toll on opposing punt returners for the reasons outlined by Taylor. If the returner does receiver the punt, it’s likely a fair catch with the punt coverage unit bearing down on him.
There’s also a chance for turnovers though with punt returners thinking too much about catching the kick and then avoiding defenders. Muffed punts can offer huge momentum shifts, and a punter lobbing balls with a ton of hang time will make returners even more prone to mishandling the kick.
Wishnowsky needs to really be a difference-maker to justify his status as a fourth-round pick, but early returns on his punting prowess make it appear he’s in line to quickly become one of the NFL’s premier special teamers.
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