Lost in what was a very busy offseason for the LA Chargers was the addition of former Green Bay Packers draft pick, JK Scott. The Bolts moved on from veteran punter Ty Long and brought in Scott, who instantly is making an impression in Chargers training camp.
First it was for switching jerseys with Justin Herbert that way Herbert could avoid the Bolts' social media team. Herbert did this last year and it was not as effective but this year worked wonders as if you squint as JK Scott, you can kind of see Justin Herbert.
wILL THE REAL JUSTIN HERBERT please stand up pic.twitter.com/qcZlkHoNRk
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) July 28, 2022
While Scott looking like Justin Herbert is great fun and games, it does not really matter for the product on the field (unless the NFL adopts a new rule where players can switch jerseys mid-game and the Chargers can get Herbert back there for a fake punt throw).
What does matter is how Scott can fit into this special teams rebuild that the Chargers have been undergoing the last two seasons. Based on the initial results from the third day of training camp, things are looking great for Scott as the Chargers' punter.
New #Chargers Punter JK Scott with multiple punts I clocked w/ 4.74 seconds of hang time. None that I timed were under 4.5.
— Dan W. (@DanWSports) July 29, 2022
That’ll do.
This would make JK Scott one of the best punters in the league for the Chargers.
Hang times in the 4.70s are really high and if Scott can blast these kind of punts next season then fans will forget all about that Matt Araiza fella. While it is likely that there is human error in these numbers, Scott certainly has the resume for us to believe that these numbers are close to accurate.
Scott already had one of the best hang times in the sport prior to joining the Chargers. Scott led the entire NFL in hang time two seasons ago with an average hang time of 4.57 seconds. In four punts last season, Scott averaged 4.74 seconds of hang time. Seems like he is consistent with that number.
Meanwhile, Ty Long was below league average when it came to hang time last season. According to Pro Football Focus, Long averaged 4.20 seconds in hang time last season. Of the 32 punters with at least 40 punts last season, Long ranked 18th.
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It appears that the Chargers have made an upgrade at the position, which is obviously a great thing. Granted, Brandon Staley is known for his aggressive, analytics-driven decisions on fourth down, so it may not end up mattering that much anyway.