Rams need to draft their own Australian punter and this guy rules

The Los Angeles Rams have attempted bold strategies since Sean McVay’s arrival in 2017 and the results were two Super Bowl appearances and one championship. Their latest unprecedented move may not carry a lot of risk, but it could be McVay and Les Snead’s boldest play yet: Will the Rams even field a special teams unit next season?

One week into April and three weeks away from the 2023 NFL Draft, the Rams are the only team in the NFL without a kicker. They are the only team in the NFL without a punter. They were one of two teams in the NFL without a longsnapper. And they let explosive return man Brandon Powell leave without anyone known to be taking his place.

I know, I know, “Longsnapper? So what?”

But in terms of kicker, it’s not as though the Rams are expecting to get an upgrade. They let Matt Gay walk without a fight and L.A. is almost certain to be downgrading at the position given Gay’s precision over the last three years. It’s been one year since the Rams parted with Johnny Hekker, one of the best punters in history, and they’re back in the market already after parting with Riley Dixon.

This could give the Rams the advantage to be the first and only team to pick a punter in the draft this year and there’s one who stands out. Surprise, surprise: He’s Australian.

In naming some “unicorns” in this year’s draft, Charles Davis shouts out punter Adam Korsak out of Rutgers. As the Ray Guy Award Winner in 2022, Korsak was named the best punter in the nation and a first team All-American across the board. He was a Ray Guy finalist in 2021 and on the watch list in 2018 and 2020, while being a Ray Guy semifinalist in 2019. So five years of being somehow related to the Ray Guy award.

Korsak set NCAA records in career punting yards, punts, and season team net punt at 45.25 yards in 2021.

He is the first Rutgers football player in history to win a national on-field award and the first All-American since 2006. Where Korsak slots in the draft is tough to guess, but two punters—Jordan Stout and Jake Camarda—were drafted in the fourth round last year. The Rams may need to use an early day three pick to be sure they get their Guy.