Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst pointed to consistency – especially as a holder – as the primary reason why the team made a change at punter this offseason.
The Packers passed on bringing back Corey Bojorquez to sign former Chicago Bears punter Pat O’Donnell.
“Certainly, his consistency. Not only as a punter, but as a holder. His directional punting is excellent,” Gutekunst said Monday.
Gutekunst also said O’Donnell has “some familiarity” with new Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, who was hired to help fix the NFL’s worst special teams group from a season ago.
Now 31, O’Donnell was the Bears punter for eight seasons. He has experience operating in cold weather and is excellent as a holder for field goals and extra points.
While younger and arguably more talented, Bojorquez faded late in the season last year and had issues holding for attempts from Mason Crosby, providing at least part of the reason why the unit struggled overall in 2021.
The Packers are hoping O’Donnell is far more consistent punting throughout the season and provides a boost as a holder for field goals.
“He became the guy we thought was best for the job,” Gutekunst said. “Corey did a great job for us last year, coming in at the last minute like he did, but we just thought (O’Donnell) was a little bit more all-around consistent for us. The holding is a big part of that.”
While punting the football is obviously a big part of the job description for a punter, holding for field goals directly affects the scoreboard. If better holding from O’Donnell creates fewer misses from the Packers kicker – whether it’s Crosby or someone else – the change will be beneficial.
O’Donnell has a gross punting average of 45.1 yards and a net punting average of 39.5 yards for his career. He’s placed 214 punts inside the 20-yard line and forced 170 fair catches, while roughly 42 percent of his punts have been returned.
