Patty Mac continues to be remembered for his punting prowess, now a larger-than-life sports media personality.
According to PFF, former Indianapolis Colts All-Pro punter Pat McAfee, who of course is now a highly successful mainstream sports and entertainment media personality, is the best player at his old football position over the past 25 years:
PUNTER: Pat McAfee (95.3 Career Punt Grade)
McAfee is the highest-graded punter of the PFF era by a significant margin, with the next closest player being AJ Cole (89.3). That six-point gap is the largest of any position on this list.
McAfee’s 4.54-second average hangtime on 611 qualifying punts is a top-five mark all time among qualifying punters, and he added 214 punts that landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. His 46.4 average punt yards per attempt was also a top-15 mark in the PFF era.
Originally a 2009 7th round pick of the Colts (and by former Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian at that), the big legged West Virginia punter played 8 years for Indianapolis—becoming an NFL First-Team All-Pro and 2x Pro Bowler.
During his 127 career games, he had 575 punts, averaging 46.4 yards per punt, 193 of those pinned within the opponent’s 20-yard line (33.6%).
Always for the brand, in addition to his boomstick of a right punting leg, McAfee consistently showed surprising athleticism for a punter, whether it was recovering his own onside kick or simply ‘blowing up’ former Denver Broncos returnman Trindon Holliday.
It’s not at all shocking that this has translated to the WWE, where whether it’s jumping of the turnbuckle or the top rope, McAfee as a regular ringside commentator on Monday Night Raw and ‘guest appearance’ wrestler has occasionally showed off his wrestling moves.
Still punting at a high level when he hung up the cleats for good in 2016, McAfee had been dealing with leg issues and continuous rehab, but it’s conceivable that he may have been able to remain a Pro Bowl caliber punter for at least a few more seasons in Indianapolis.
Wanting more with his calling in life than simply striking a football, McAfee transitioned to a career as a sports and entertainment personality (and traveling comedian), and given his meteoric rise to the top, likely has no regrets with his mainstay ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ airing weekdays on ESPN.
We’re getting to the point where much more folks know him as a personality than a punter.
Still, it’s always fun to look back and recall just how good of a punter he really was.
For the record, Peyton Manning receiving honorable mention to Tom Brady isn’t cool though.