KC Chiefs: Reviewing the 2020 rookie class

Tommy Townsend – Punter

Kansas City was so impressed with the undrafted free agent acquisition of Florida punter Tommy Townsend that they released their longest tenured player, Dustin Colquitt, to make room for him on the roster. It did not take long for their hunch to prove true. Townsend was outstanding early for the Chiefs, and the team was happy with the returns and bit of cap space saved in the process.

During the regular season, Townsend saw 20 of his 67 punts downed inside the opponents 20-yard line, and teams averaged just under 8 yards per return against him. Only six of his punts went for touchbacks. While Townsend’s 45 yards per punt average ranked at the bottom of the NFL, that was more attributable to the positions he was punting in/from, rather than his performance. His 60-yard average on four punts against the New England Patriots in Week 4 proved that he is more than capable of booming the ball when necessary.

Unfortunately, it all seemed to fall apart for the rookie in the Super Bowl. Townsend was abysmal in three punts, consistently missing the impact point and shanking the football throughout the contest. He finished the biggest game of his career with a paltry 35-yard average. Hopefully, Super Bowl LV was an aberration in what otherwise proves to be a successful and long career with the Chiefs.