2022 Top 25 Buffalo Bills 25 and Under: No. 19 Matt Araiza

One spot ahead of fellow rookie Terrel Bernard is punter Matt Araiza, who was drafted in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, in these rankings looking at the Top 25 players who are 25 and under currently on the Buffalo Bills roster.

Matt Araiza was considered one of the top punters in this year’s NFL Draft and while punters are typically not a position that sees get drafted, this year there were four. After the Baltimore Ravens selected Jordan Stout and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Jake Camarda in the fourth round, the Bills made their selection of Araiza.

Last year at San Diego State, Araiza had a breakout season after losing the starting job the year prior. He averaged over 50 yards per punt and had a few that traveled over 80 yards during the course of the season.

Matt Araiza will be competing with Matt Haack for a roster spot on the Buffalo Bills

Even though the Bills drafted Matt Araiza this year, he is not guaranteed a roster spot and will compete with veteran Matt Haack during training camp. In terms of punting, Araiza is already the better punter as he has a stronger leg and looked more accurate than Haack.

However, the area the rookie will need to prove himself is actually holding on field goal attempts for Tyler Bass. The Bills are not a team that punts often due to having one of the best offenses in the league so holding on field goal attempts become even more important.

Matt Araiza is well aware of the fact that this could be a deciding factor and during rookie minicamp, he noted some of the things he is doing to work on this part of his game.

In the end, it certainly would be surprising if Matt Araiza didn’t make the roster and he should be a big part of the special teams unit for the foreseeable future and give Buffalo an advantage in field position with his ability to punt the ball deep.