Speaker 1: Welcome to another edition of the Official Jets podcast, the
Speaker 1: Draft Pick Profile series. Wrapping up here Ethan Greenberg Eric
Speaker 1: Allen breaking down the jets sixth round pick. That's punter
Speaker 1: Brandon Man out of Texas A and M. And on
Speaker 1: this podcast, you're gonna hear from Joe Douglas and his
Speaker 1: staff on why they like Bradon Man. You're gonna hear
Speaker 1: from Braden Man himself. He caught up with Olivia Landis
Speaker 1: right after he was drafted and Ea. The Jets originally
Speaker 1: had two six round picks heading into the draft, and
Speaker 1: with their first and there what became their only six
Speaker 1: round pick, they elect to help out brandpoor your special
Speaker 1: teams unit with Bradon Man. Yeah, you know what, Lachlan
Speaker 1: Edwards last year was solid. He didn't approve his hang
Speaker 1: time from his previous two seasons and had a few
Speaker 1: twenty yard net kicks is are Randy Lang pointed out,
Speaker 1: But you look at the numbers forty five point nine
Speaker 1: yard gross, which is fourteen in the Nation Football League,
Speaker 1: at forty one point six yard net, which was twelve
Speaker 1: in the National Football League, and Edwards actually had the
Speaker 1: second but inside twenty two touchback ratio in franchise history
Speaker 1: nine point three to one. So I'm throwing all these
Speaker 1: superlatives out about Lochlan Edwards. With that being said, I
Speaker 1: think obviously says he entered the spring as a free
Speaker 1: agent and the Jets thought they could upgrade the position.
Speaker 1: This is not a knock on Edwards to me. It
Speaker 1: speaks to just how highly they thought of Brandon Man.
Speaker 1: And when you look at what he did at Texas
Speaker 1: A and M over the course of four seasons, predominantly
Speaker 1: the last two because he was planning the last two seasons,
Speaker 1: this kid was the top pointer in all of college football.
Speaker 1: And after he was drafted, a lot of the pundits,
Speaker 1: whether it was Daniel Jeremiah or Mel Kuiper ever, all
Speaker 1: thought that he had Pro Bowl or all Pro capabilities
Speaker 1: in his first couple of seasons entering the NFL. And
Speaker 1: I just want to hit this real quick before we
Speaker 1: hear from Joe Douglas and his staff. You mentioned that
Speaker 1: Brandon Man was punting the last two seasons. Well, what
Speaker 1: does that mean he was doing his first two seasons
Speaker 1: at A and M. Well, he was the kickoff specialist
Speaker 1: there because the Aggies had a very good punter in
Speaker 1: place when he arrived to College station. And we'll talk
Speaker 1: about Brandon Man's career at A and M right after
Speaker 1: we hear from Joe Douglas and his staff on what
Speaker 1: they like about Brandon Man. Yeah, another another guy, highly
Speaker 1: productive Ray Guy Ward winner and um, a guy that
Speaker 1: Brandt was really excited about when when when we were
Speaker 1: going over the special teams guy. That was a guy
Speaker 1: that Coach Boy stood on the table for it and
Speaker 1: it was an opportunity when we were able to acquire
Speaker 1: the extra picks that we required to say, Okay, this
Speaker 1: is a guy that can come here and come in
Speaker 1: here at this point in the draft and really help
Speaker 1: us and possibly can need to be a starter, you
Speaker 1: know at that punter spot. So another young man that
Speaker 1: is a high character guy and it's going to be
Speaker 1: a really good fit in the building. Brandon uh with
Speaker 1: the tremendous leg strength and was the Rey Guy Award winner,
Speaker 1: which is obviously the highest highest award that you can
Speaker 1: receive as a putterer in college football. The guy's got
Speaker 1: ability to directional kick and to hit deep balls, which
Speaker 1: is going to flip the field for us. So in
Speaker 1: terms of moving on for him and having him under
Speaker 1: contract for the next four years. Will will be good
Speaker 1: and significance for our special teams, especially for Brant Well.
Speaker 1: He's another player who you know, obviously there was some
Speaker 1: conviction on between coaching and scouting and Brant Bowyer and
Speaker 1: Jeff Hammersmith had looked at him and thought he was
Speaker 1: the top or in this class. And you know, one
Speaker 1: thing about him, he's not your classics six ft four
Speaker 1: fifteen pound potter. You know, he's shorter in stature, but
Speaker 1: he's got a real strong leg. Obviously, Ineen, he had
Speaker 1: a tremendous year where he was the Ray Guy Award winner.
Speaker 1: But he's somebody that we think can flip the field
Speaker 1: and obviously, with the hang time and the ability of
Speaker 1: some of our cover people, hopefully we can start winning
Speaker 1: some of the field position battles that will be you know,
Speaker 1: really important this coming season in the future. And you know,
Speaker 1: as we looked at our board, there was some interesting
Speaker 1: prospects still available, but most we felt like we're a
Speaker 1: year or two away, would be somewhat buried on the
Speaker 1: depth chart as they try to fight their way to
Speaker 1: a starting spot or even a serviceable backup. And with
Speaker 1: brad Man just seem like it represented really good value
Speaker 1: for us. He a Bradon man. His first year punting
Speaker 1: came on the scene hot he won the Ray Guy Award,
Speaker 1: which goes to the nation's top punter. It was his
Speaker 1: first year starting. He was a unanimous All American and
Speaker 1: he said the n c a a record with fifty
Speaker 1: one yard per punt, and he put nineteen of his
Speaker 1: fifty punts inside the twenty yard line, eleven fair catches
Speaker 1: he forced. So he's really not only does he have
Speaker 1: a leg that can boom the ball, but he's a
Speaker 1: precision kicker as well or punter should I say as well, Well,
Speaker 1: you can say kicker because this is such an accomplished player.
Speaker 1: He was one of the top players coming out of
Speaker 1: high school from a kicking perspective. I think he was
Speaker 1: the number two kicking recruit in the country before going
Speaker 1: to Texas A and M. But you mentioned that two
Speaker 1: thousand and eighteen year where he won the Ray Guy
Speaker 1: Award against Alabama. He sat down CIA records an average
Speaker 1: sixty point eight yards per point and also he had
Speaker 1: fourteen points of sixty plus yards in two thousand and eighteen,
Speaker 1: and all what happened last year uh, not too bad.
Speaker 1: A second team, a p All American First team All
Speaker 1: SEC performer, averaging forty seven point one yards per point,
Speaker 1: which ranked in the top five nationally. And he also
Speaker 1: plays the He also plays twenty six of fifty seven
Speaker 1: points inside the twenty and speaking about his position of precision,
Speaker 1: he had only four touchbacks. So this is a guy
Speaker 1: who had a big leg and he also excelled in
Speaker 1: terms of placement. And that's what you have to do
Speaker 1: in order to be outstanding at the punting position. And
Speaker 1: this guy, uh, he did it consistently at Texas, say
Speaker 1: and him. You know, I know all eyes will be
Speaker 1: on the top of this traff class with McKay, Beckton
Speaker 1: and Denzel Mims, and rightfully so, or perhaps understandably so.
Speaker 1: But Brandon Man might have the best chance to be
Speaker 1: a high impact player at his position across the league
Speaker 1: from day one. And we talked about his twenty eight
Speaker 1: teen season, the Ray Guy Award winning season. Only one
Speaker 1: player has averaged more than fifty one yards per punt,
Speaker 1: and that's fellow Aggie and former NFL punter Shane Leckler,
Speaker 1: who had a decorated NFL career. So Brandon Man, I
Speaker 1: think there's a lot to be excited about if you're
Speaker 1: a Jets fan, And I just want to clear up
Speaker 1: this common misconception about punting. It's so much more than
Speaker 1: just about how far you can kick the ball. Because
Speaker 1: if you're a punter and you can kick at sixty yards,
Speaker 1: that's great. But what if you have no hang time
Speaker 1: and it doesn't allow your special teams guys to cover properly,
Speaker 1: and then the return urs average I don't know, ten
Speaker 1: to fifteen yards per return against you. That doesn't do
Speaker 1: you any good. What's so great about Brandon Man is
Speaker 1: that he can kick it, and he can kick it high.
Speaker 1: And with the gunners that the Jets are probably gonna
Speaker 1: line up, whether that's somebody like Vincent Smith or Trent
Speaker 1: and Cannon if they were to line up tomorrow, those
Speaker 1: guys can fly. So the Jets punting coverage unit might
Speaker 1: be might very well be one of the best in
Speaker 1: the NFL next season. Listen, over the less two seasons,
Speaker 1: you would put the Jets special teams up against anybody
Speaker 1: in the National Football League at brand blowy Er is
Speaker 1: a fantastic coordinator. With that being said, what happens on
Speaker 1: special teams all the time is you're continually juggling your
Speaker 1: lineups because it's not like a number one running back
Speaker 1: or number one receiver that you know who's going to
Speaker 1: be there for a long time. What you're doing is
Speaker 1: you're relying on depth players to become your fixtures in
Speaker 1: a short amount of time. But when you get a
Speaker 1: punter like a man and you invest a six round
Speaker 1: picking him, you're hoping that's a position that will stick
Speaker 1: for a number of years. And that's what kind of
Speaker 1: potential he certainly does have. And the Jets, again we
Speaker 1: always think in terms of offense and defense. Well, you
Speaker 1: can make the argument that Joe Douglas certainly improved his
Speaker 1: special teams units, not just in free agency, but especially
Speaker 1: in the draft. To go back to Ashton Davis, you
Speaker 1: think about Lea, Michael p Ryan, and then in the
Speaker 1: sixth round, uh, you add the punter and man. Again,
Speaker 1: no knock on Lockland Edwards here. I think he's gonna
Speaker 1: be punting in the National Football League next year. And
Speaker 1: he was a good person inside the locker room. The
Speaker 1: Jets just thought, hey, we have a grade on this guy,
Speaker 1: and this is great value at this point. And Bill
Speaker 1: Parcels always used to talk about hidden yardage. Well, special teams.
Speaker 1: We don't talk about special teams enough, and that can
Speaker 1: get you over the hump. Remember the Jets finished seven
Speaker 1: and nine last year after starting one and seven, so
Speaker 1: they went six and two in the seasons. Uh second half. Well,
Speaker 1: if you get a couple more games, and special teams
Speaker 1: plays a prominent role in those with Paul games, you're
Speaker 1: gonna be playing into January as a playoff team. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think that something that I like about this pick,
Speaker 1: not only because I'm excited about it, but this was
Speaker 1: a guy that Joe Douglas told U E A that
Speaker 1: brand Boyer stood on the table for Bradman. So Brandt
Speaker 1: Boyer is clearly excited about adding Man to his special
Speaker 1: teams unit. And let's hear from Brandon Man himself, who
Speaker 1: caught up with Olivia Landis after he was drafted. Brandon,
Speaker 1: you spent your collegiate career at Texas A and M,
Speaker 1: and it actually took you until your third season to
Speaker 1: earn that starting job. How much patience did you accumulating
Speaker 1: during that time and what else did you learn having
Speaker 1: to sit back before starting. I think it was a
Speaker 1: little bit of patience and a lot of competitiveness for sure.
Speaker 1: I knew that going in I wasn't gonna just earn
Speaker 1: just get the starting job right away. I had to
Speaker 1: earn it um, and so I competed against Shane who
Speaker 1: was our party at the time, who's great, a good
Speaker 1: friend of mine. So UM. I think that competing against
Speaker 1: him um with a lot of fun. I think that
Speaker 1: was definitely that helped me in my junior and senior
Speaker 1: year once I finally got in starting job that was
Speaker 1: constantly competing and constantly being put pressure on. So I
Speaker 1: think that helped me a little bit to handle with
Speaker 1: my junior and senior year. UM. But it wasn't really
Speaker 1: about just waiting to see when I would start. It was,
Speaker 1: you know, I thought I was gonna come in earn
Speaker 1: as best I could my freshman year and just didn't
Speaker 1: work out until my junior year. So what in your
Speaker 1: skill set did you have to hone in on during
Speaker 1: that time. I think for me it was situational punning. Um.
Speaker 1: Coming out of high school, I pretty much just knew
Speaker 1: how to hit a spiral um, which is just typical
Speaker 1: one you hit. But it's the little things. It's the inside,
Speaker 1: the fifty or inside the landing inside of twenty yard
Speaker 1: Constil wanted to spend backwards all types of little stuff
Speaker 1: and that something that Shoan is really good at. So
Speaker 1: I think that's why my first two years is a
Speaker 1: great learning opportunity to learn from him a little bit
Speaker 1: um and then kind of put my own little twist
Speaker 1: on it in some ways. So I think situationally, um,
Speaker 1: college is waiting from high school in the same sense
Speaker 1: the NFL is waiting from college. I think that's definitely
Speaker 1: something gonna have to keep working at once I get
Speaker 1: to New York. You know, it sounds like you developed
Speaker 1: a lot then over those few years. As a matter
Speaker 1: of fact, you earned all SEC honors, you are, earned
Speaker 1: Associated Press, all American honors, and then of course won
Speaker 1: the Ray Guy Winner. Of course that goes to the
Speaker 1: nation's top punters. So when you think about all of
Speaker 1: those accolades, what exactly do you take away from those honors.
Speaker 1: I think I had a great team surrounding me, for sure.
Speaker 1: I think that's number one. Um. You know, it's not
Speaker 1: an individual sports loving people and field of time. So
Speaker 1: I think that the team around me definitely helped with
Speaker 1: all those Um, it was definitely not just me. It
Speaker 1: was my you snapper with my cover guys, and I
Speaker 1: think that just being able to play with those guys, um,
Speaker 1: really just allowed me to have the opportunity to, um,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of showcase a little bit and and
Speaker 1: help them as well. You know, you know they're helping me,
Speaker 1: and so I would help them as much as I
Speaker 1: can't help our defense. So I think it wasn't so
Speaker 1: much about the self accolades as it was that was
Speaker 1: that was a team thing that year for sure. Well
Speaker 1: along with Puny. I was looking up some of your
Speaker 1: stats and it said that in twenty nineteen you had
Speaker 1: seven open field tackles, which is above average for a hunter.
Speaker 1: How much do you pride yourself on that ability? On
Speaker 1: the ability? I like to think that I can tackle.
Speaker 1: You know. It's say a lot of people think that
Speaker 1: the kicking games is a ten man play because the
Speaker 1: kickers not expect to make a tackle, But I think
Speaker 1: that's an eleven man play. So um, obviously, if I
Speaker 1: do my job well enough, I shouldn't have to be
Speaker 1: able to make it. Taxles someone us I wish I
Speaker 1: had back for sure, Um, But you know, if I
Speaker 1: got to get in there, I'm moren't happy to do so.
Speaker 1: I used to pull on backer, so it's kind of
Speaker 1: in my nature a little bit looking forward to seeing
Speaker 1: some of those tackles. But besides the tackling and the punching,
Speaker 1: what else do you bring to the kickoff value of
Speaker 1: the game? Well, I started the kickoffs for four years
Speaker 1: A and M. I started for twice as long as
Speaker 1: I started punning. So, UM, I think that I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna come in and do whatever they need me to do.
Speaker 1: I'm more than happy to kickoffs. I would love to,
Speaker 1: you know, if theyiled me to come in and do
Speaker 1: that and take a little pressure of the field kicker,
Speaker 1: I'd love to do that. Anything that I can contribute
Speaker 1: would be amazing. Special teams coordinator Brandt Boyer has had
Speaker 1: one of the best ranked special teams in the NFL
Speaker 1: for the past couple of years with the Jets. Have
Speaker 1: you had any opportunity to speak to him, and if so,
Speaker 1: what have you guys talked about as I'm definitely spoke
Speaker 1: to him a lot during the whole process in this
Speaker 1: whole spring, and um, I love talking to him. He
Speaker 1: was He's obviously amazing at what he does. One of
Speaker 1: the best in the business, and that's why I'm really
Speaker 1: excited to get to New York for sure. Um, I
Speaker 1: think it's gonna a great opportunity for me to get
Speaker 1: there and being one of the best bush teams units
Speaker 1: in the country. So UM, I think it's a cultural thing.
Speaker 1: Then I'm excited to learn and grow from that. He
Speaker 1: ain't something else about Brandon Man that He'll be the
Speaker 1: first to tell you too. He's not necessarily your average
Speaker 1: punter or your stereotypical punter. Just in terms of physique.
Speaker 1: You think about guys in the NFL typically over six ft,
Speaker 1: somewhat slender, maybe somewhat stocking depends. He's five. But this
Speaker 1: guy can cover two e A and he is just
Speaker 1: a very interesting hunter because he can kick off if
Speaker 1: you want, he can punt, he can cover a little bit.
Speaker 1: Between him and Thomas Hennessy e A. That Jet might
Speaker 1: have the best punter and long snapper in coverage WHOA
Speaker 1: and Man hasn't even played it down in the National
Speaker 1: Football League. You made me smiled just a little bit there.
Speaker 1: I think the Jets fans should be excited about that. Uh.
Speaker 1: When I started thinking about you talking about what Man
Speaker 1: can do in coverage, the number of one. UH at
Speaker 1: my mind was hopefully he doesn't have to make too
Speaker 1: many tackles in the National Football League level. And he
Speaker 1: said that himself. I think when Live asked him about it,
Speaker 1: he said, yeah, I consider myself a football player, but
Speaker 1: if I'm making too many tackles, that means something's going wrong.
Speaker 1: The other thing is, when you were talking right there,
Speaker 1: the guy I thought of was Steve Weatherford. You see
Speaker 1: what Steve Weatherford does in terms of his workouts, in
Speaker 1: his physique, the former Jets potter, Yeah, you mean Armageddon
Speaker 1: is not his workout program, and that is one of
Speaker 1: his workout programs. There's a guy who got after it
Speaker 1: big time. So no, but it's funny over the years,
Speaker 1: and it goes all the way back is that the
Speaker 1: punters and kickers UH tend to be isolated a little
Speaker 1: bit from the rest of the team. And there are
Speaker 1: guys like a Weatherford who used to be blasting the
Speaker 1: music in the locker room and living in the way room,
Speaker 1: who I think reached themselves out beyond that stigma, the
Speaker 1: traditional stigma of the kickers. But man, it's coming in
Speaker 1: here as a rookie Hayes, a punter Uh, but they
Speaker 1: are the bottom line, his kickers are football players too. Okay, well,
Speaker 1: I think that's fair to say. I think it's good
Speaker 1: you put that out there. I do want to hit
Speaker 1: on real quick where Brandon Man fits in on this
Speaker 1: roster a little bit, but more so just about the
Speaker 1: special teams some somewhat overhaul here. So Brandon Man is
Speaker 1: one of two punters on the roster, the other guys
Speaker 1: Ian Berryman, who was signed to reserve future deal. Then
Speaker 1: you look at the Jets kickers, Sam Fickens on the team.
Speaker 1: The Jets also brought in at the end of last
Speaker 1: season Brett Maherr, who used to kick for the Cowboys
Speaker 1: and has a monster leg as well. And then you
Speaker 1: think about where the Jets could be at kick returner. Well,
Speaker 1: and last year was Trenton Cannon Vincent Smith, both who
Speaker 1: returned in Braxton Barrios was the number two punt returner
Speaker 1: in the NFL in terms of average per punt return.
Speaker 1: So this Jets unit I think had a good core
Speaker 1: and they could be again, they could be better in pashion.
Speaker 1: Davis could get in the mix from the kick returner perspective. Uh,
Speaker 1: he is very fast. He was not able to showcase
Speaker 1: that speed at the combine in Indianapolis, but he would
Speaker 1: have time very well. There's a kid who, as we
Speaker 1: talked about in his profile, he actually started at California
Speaker 1: as a track athlete, a sprinter or hurdler, so he
Speaker 1: can do some damage with his legs, with his wheels.
Speaker 1: And also you mentioned the gunner position. I would be
Speaker 1: surprised at Off Davis is one of your guys out
Speaker 1: there in the early weeks of the season where he's
Speaker 1: playing on the outside, because he did that at calif
Speaker 1: Moren as well, you mentioned the kicking position. That's the
Speaker 1: kind of one where you're looking at it where Brandon
Speaker 1: Man you take him and you know he's gonna compete.
Speaker 1: Everybody's gonna have to earn their position. But in all likelihood,
Speaker 1: do you think you're walking into twenty twenty and the
Speaker 1: Brandon Man is on your roster and he's got all
Speaker 1: the chance to be the guy opening day who's going
Speaker 1: to be a kicker. You mentioned picking Um and Brett
Speaker 1: Mayer is here as well. That is a special teams
Speaker 1: battle that we could be talking about for a while
Speaker 1: in training camp leading up to the regular season opener.
Speaker 1: But I do think that on paper, the Jets have
Speaker 1: improved their special teams units. Now it's going to be
Speaker 1: the chemistry, the cohesion, and then also finding the spots
Speaker 1: for some of these new guys, because special team is
Speaker 1: not just specialists, as you know, who's gonna be part
Speaker 1: of your coverage, who's part of your blocking units, and
Speaker 1: things like that, because that changes each and every year.
Speaker 1: But the Jets can Russia sure knowing, rest assured, knowing
Speaker 1: that they have one of the best special teams coordinators
Speaker 1: a whole football uh. And they've also set the standard
Speaker 1: here um as being a lead special teams unit the
Speaker 1: last couple of seasons. No reason not to believe that
Speaker 1: they will be just as good as last year, or
Speaker 1: maybe even better uh two seasons ago. I think widely
Speaker 1: considered by Rick Goslin, who does the special teams rankings
Speaker 1: each and every year, the number one special teams unit
Speaker 1: of the National Football League. If you get that again,
Speaker 1: you're gonna be in great shape. But I don't know
Speaker 1: about you. I mean, we've been talking about Man on
Speaker 1: this podcast, and we know the other thing that we
Speaker 1: kind of glossed over a little bit is that he
Speaker 1: didn't take over the punting duties until what is junior year.
Speaker 1: But he's a kickoff specialist, so the Jets potentially could
Speaker 1: use him in a kickoff specialist role as well, um
Speaker 1: down the line or immediately while figuring out who their
Speaker 1: field goal kicker is. Yeah, I think that Brandon Man
Speaker 1: is more than just your stereotypical punter, even though will
Speaker 1: be a rookie in and I'm very excited to see
Speaker 1: not only how he punts in the NFL, but also
Speaker 1: how this whole special team unit comes together, from the
Speaker 1: kicker to the gunners to the core special teamers. And
Speaker 1: you know, Brandt Blawyer has to deal you mentioned this,
Speaker 1: Brandt Blawyer has to deal with a lot of moving
Speaker 1: pieces throughout the course of the season, and he did.
Speaker 1: He did a great job two years ago, he did
Speaker 1: a great job last year. He's one of the top
Speaker 1: special teams coordinators in the NFL. And he gets a
Speaker 1: new toy and Brandon Man, So we'll see what happens.
Speaker 1: But that was the final edition of the Draft Pick
Speaker 1: Profile series presented by Verizon here on the Official Jets Podcast.
Speaker 1: And next up, E A and I We're going a
Speaker 1: little bit of a different direction here. We're talking Jets opponents.
Speaker 1: That's where we're going next. We're gonna have a people
Speaker 1: who cover each of the Jets opponents will talk about
Speaker 1: the matchup, key additions, key subtractions to their respective teams,
Speaker 1: and that's what's next. Up on the Official Jets Podcast