Quote:Have you seen him punt? He was one of the best punters in the NFL last year - as a rookie! That is all that matters, regardless of which round he was drafted in.

 

It matters if we could have had him undrafted, or as a late round pick.  You can certainly defend the pick to your heart's content, but the bottom line is that selecting Anger in the 3rd round landed us a punter who has been completely mediocre this year.  When you look at what we could have had in that position, it's almost painful. 

 

Anger is currently the 8th rated punter in the league.

 

1. Brandon Fields - MIA - Selected in the 7th round of the 2007 draft
   
2. Thomas Morstead - NO - Selected in the 5th round of the 2009 draft
   
3. Johnny Hekker - STL - Undrafted Free Agent 2012
   
4. Sam Martin - DET - Selected in the 5th round of the 2013 draft
   
5. Andy Lee - SF - Selected in the 6th round of the 2004 draft
   
6. Marquette King - OAK - Undrafted Free Agent 2012
   
7. Matt Bosher - ATL - Selected in 6th round of the 2011 draft
   
8. Brian Anger - JAX - Selected in the 3rd round of the 2012 draft
   
9. Brent Kern - DEN - Undrafted Free Agent 2008
   
10. Jeff Locke - MIN - Selected in the 5th round of the 2013 draft
    

Late rounds or undrafted punters surround Anger, supporting the notion that he was a reach in the 3rd round, and probably could have been had much later.  If not, there are 2 guys from that same draft class who are better than him who wound up being rookie free agents.  Tough to justify that pick now, just as it was difficult to defend the pick then.  Perhaps if the team was as close as they thought they were to turning a corner then it's something that could be justified.  Otherwise, you have to admit it was a boneheaded move, and probably was one of the contributing factors in Smith losing his job.

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