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The preseason is about to start, which means roster construction talk is about to hit an all-time high. People are often reminded to consider special teams in the equation when they make mock 53-man rosters, but what does that really mean?
To paint the picture of which Green Bay Packers play on special teams, where they play and what the Packers’ identity (at least from a personnel perspective) is, I want to do some deep dives into the third phase of football this summer. We’re going to start with the punt unit.
Obviously, the long snapper is the long snapper and long snaps to the punter, playing punter, who then punts. But what about the other nine players on the field? Let’s go position-by-position, explaining who the Packers use in these spots to try to win the field position battle when their offense falls short.
Punt Gunner
The first position I want to touch on here is the punt gunners, whose job is to try to get past the “jammer” or “vise” player on the return team as fast as possible to force a fair catch, down a punt or make a tackle quickly after the punt returner fields the ball. They usually line up outside of the numbers in a receiver-like position while the jammer/vise across from them is the cornerback to their receiver spot. Sometimes, you will hear the Packers call this gunner position the “flyer.”
League-Wide Snap Counts:
As you can see, this position is mostly filled by defensive backs. League-wide, about 72 percent of these snaps are played by defensive backs, with cornerbacks playing about twice as much as safeties. Considering that cornerbacks usually are faster than safeties, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Remember, the whole reason we measure 40-yard dashes in football, a timed event that only really exists in the context of this sport, is because legendary head coach Paul Brown believed it translated well to the punt gunner position. Wide receivers are the only non-defensive backs who see a significant amount of time at this position, but defensive backs still play about three snaps at punt gunner for every one that receivers line up for.
2024 Packers Player Snap Counts
2024 Packers Position Breakdown:
How you want to treat Bo Melton in this data is up to the reader. Last year, he was a wide receiver. This year, he’s a defensive back. If you count the position...
