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MIN Minnesota Vikings · P· #6

Johnny Hekker

Age
36
Height
6'5"
Weight
241 lbs
College
Oregon State
Drafted
Not drafted
Experience
15th NFL season
Compare with another playerPunters leaderboard

44

Overall grade

27th of 33 punters

Well below typical

below average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Johnny grades below average among punters so far, with no number far from the middle.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 2 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the punters in the league.

  • Touchbacks0%1st of 33small sample
  • EPA per punt−0.2124th of 33small sample
  • Net yards per punt39.5 yds30th of 33small sample
  • Punts inside the 2018%33rd of 33small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying punters. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among punters after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 3: 31st percentileWeek 4: 22nd percentile22nd

Season rank slipped: 31st to 22nd percentile since Wk 3.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per punt game by game
WeekOpponentThat gamepuntsSeason rank after
3vs TB−0.18831st pct
4vs MIA−0.29322nd pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 6 punts can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every punter with at least 8 punts. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per punt

Below typical

−0.21

24th of 33 punters · bottom 31%

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. From the punting team's side: a punt that pins the offense deep adds points, a short punt gives them up.

The box score: Punting average ignores the return, the touchback and where the punt was kicked from.

Does it show up in winning? Across 70 games league-wide, a good or bad game on EPA per punt from a punter has not lined up much with his team winning (35% wins in the best third, 30% in the worst).

Last 2 games: −0.29 (3) vs −0.18 before

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts · true level likely −0.67 to +0.25

Net yards per punt

Among the weakest

39.5 yds

30th of 33 punters · bottom 13%

Punt distance minus the return, with 20 yards taken off for a touchback.

The box score: Gross average counts yards the returner takes back.

Does it show up in winning? Across 70 games league-wide, teams won 35% of the time when their punter was in the best third on net yards per punt, and 22% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 34.3 yds (3) vs 41.5 yds before

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts · true level likely 34.3 yds to 44.8 yds

Punts inside the 20

Among the weakest

18%

33rd of 33 punters · bottom 4%

The share of his punts that land inside the 20-yard line.

The box score: Counted, but not against how many punts were close enough to try.

Does it show up in winning? Across 70 games league-wide, teams won 56% of the time when their punter was in the best third on punts inside the 20, and 22% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 0% (3) vs 25% before

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts · true level likely -3% to 39%

Touchbacks

Elite

0%lower is better

1st of 33 punters · top 4%

The share of his punts that are touchbacks, which waste the distance. Fewer is better.

The box score: Counted, but not against attempts.

Does it show up in winning? Across 70 games league-wide, teams won 44% of the time when their punter was in the best third on touchbacks, and 22% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 0% (3) vs 0% before

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts · true level likely -13% to 13%

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the punters around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Gross punt average

Style

43.2 yds

Kicks shorter, and more so than almost any of the punters. A typical one is 47.9 yds.

Average punt distance before the return. It is the box score number, shown beside net yards for comparison.

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts

Fair catches

Style

36%

Right around the middle of punters: a typical one is 33%.

The share of his punts that are fair caught, a sign of directional kicking and hang time.

Small sample: could move a lot · 11 punts

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Johnny Hekker game by game
GameResultPuntsIn 20EPA/puntNet ydsInside 20Touchbacks
Wk 3 vs TBW 23–1682−0.1841.5 yds25%0%
Wk 4 vs MIAW 15–1030−0.2934.3 yds0%0%

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among punters. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Johnny Hekker box score totals
StatTotalRank
Punts1128th of 33
Punts inside the 20233rd of 33

Players with a similar profile

The punters whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.

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