NE New England Patriots · P· #19

Mitch Wishnowsky

Age
34
Height
6'2"
Weight
220 lbs
College
Utah; Santa Barbara
Drafted
2019, No. 110 overall (SF)
Experience
8th NFL season

41

Overall grade

30th of 33 punters

Among the weakest

below average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

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

Lately he is playing worse. Touchbacks is 33% over the last 2 games (6 punts), against 10% before that. A few plays could easily explain this. Worth watching, not worth believing yet.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

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

  • Punts inside the 2044%15th of 33small sample
  • EPA per punt−0.1221st of 33small sample
  • Net yards per punt39.6 yds29th of 33small sample
  • Touchbacks19%32nd 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 2: 56th percentileWeek 3: 53rd percentileWeek 4: 38th percentileWeek 5: 38th percentile38th

Season rank slipped: 56th to 38th percentile since Wk 2.

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
1vs SEA−0.194–
2vs PIT+0.01456th pct
3vs JAX+0.06253rd pct
4vs BUF−0.21438th pct
5vs LV−0.29238th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 3 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

−0.12

21st of 33 punters · bottom 40%

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: −0.23 (6) vs −0.06 before−4.5grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 16 punts · true level likely −0.50 to +0.25

Net yards per punt

Well below typical

39.6 yds

29th of 33 punters · bottom 16%

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: 35.8 yds (6) vs 41.8 yds before−11.6grade points downLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 16 punts · true level likely 35.2 yds to 43.9 yds

Punts inside the 20

Typical

44%

15th of 33 punters · top 46%

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: 33% (6) vs 50% before−10.2grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 16 punts · true level likely 23% to 64%

Touchbacks

Among the weakest

19%lower is better

32nd of 33 punters · bottom 7%

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: 33% (6) vs 10% before−25.8grade points downLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 16 punts · true level likely 2% to 36%

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

47.3 yds

Right around the middle of 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 · 16 punts

Fair catches

Style

25%

Lets returners run, more than most 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 · 16 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.

Mitch Wishnowsky game by game
GameResultPuntsIn 20EPA/puntNet ydsInside 20Touchbacks
Wk 1 vs SEAL 10–1343−0.1942.0 yds75%0%
Wk 2 vs PITW 20–341+0.0141.0 yds25%0%
Wk 3 vs JAXL 6–3521+0.0643.0 yds50%50%
Wk 4 vs BUFW 29–2641−0.2138.0 yds25%50%
Wk 5 vs LVW 45–1721−0.2931.5 yds50%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.

Mitch Wishnowsky box score totals
StatTotalRank
Punts1615th of 33
Punts inside the 20712th 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.

← All players

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.