Denver Broncos punter Sam Martin posted respectable numbers last year with the third-best net average per punt (42.8 yards) and the fifth-most punts downed inside the 20-yard line (28) in the NFL, so it was a little surprising when the team added punter Corliss Waitman to their roster in February.
Waitman’s left-footedness removes the mystery.
Martin is right-footed, so if he was the only punter on the roster this summer, Denver’s returners would only have practice catching punts from a right-footed punter. Waitman will give the team’s returners reps catching left-footed punts as well.
“The lefty ball, obviously, spins a little bit different than right,” special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes said on June 14. “It takes a while to get used to catching those types of punts.
“The benefit of having Corliss and Sam in training camp, in the offseason, [is] it gets all of our returners — not just Montrell [Washington], but KJ [Hamler], Kendall [Hinton] etcetera, reps at a left punter and also a right punter. So I think that’s beneficial for us moving forward into the year.”
That’s a smart approach because the Broncos will undoubtedly face left-footed punters during the season. Waitman will also get an opportunity to compete with Martin for the starting job this summer, but it’s no coincidence that Waitman’s an opposite-footed player to the team’s incumbent starter.
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