Pat McAfee gives perspective and praise for Chiefs punter Matt Araiza

The ESPN commentator and former Pro Bowl punter likes what he sees in K.C.

Pat McAfee has his detractors, but there's no denying he knows what he's talking about when it comes to special teams. For eight seasons, he served as punter for the Indianapolis Colts and led teh league in yards per punt in his final season in 2016. As a two-time Pro Bowler, McAfee knows the craft of the position.

And when it comes to Kansas City Chiefs punter Matt Araiza, McAfee likes what he sees.

On a recent episode of The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN, the host was breaking down some of his favorite punting performances in recent games and pointed to young punters like Jack Fox of the Detroit Lions and Araiza of the Chiefs to analyze what they do best. (Note: Fox was originally with the Chiefs himself.)

Specifically, McAfee pointed to the scenarios in which punters on the league's best teams find themselves and the extra pressure that it adds.

"So whenever you're on a bad team, okay, you're putting like seven, eight times a game, six, seven times a game. So you can have like three, or four shanks, and then your other ones can make up for the average. Cause that's the game you're playing is the average game. Whenever you're putting like twice a game or once a game, it's like, Hey, we got no margin of error here," said McAfee.

"You hit, if one gets taken back to the house on you, your net's f--ked for the rest of the year. You hit a little shank. It's going to take you three weeks to make up for that thing. ... There is a heightened amount of pressure every single time."

McAfee then goes on to applaud Araiza and Fox for the jobs they've done this season.

Araiza was Brett Veach's answer at punter when Tommy Townsend became a free agent this past spring. The Chiefs knew he would earn a decent payday and with other cap considerations, they allowed him to walk to the Houston Texans on a multi-year deal.

The Chiefs signed Araiza ahead of time, back in February, as a way to solidify the role before free agency even got underway. Araiza had been a sixth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills at one point but false allegations of rape were made toward him and the ensuing investigation and drama led to his ouster. Other teams wouldn't touch him for the next year or more and Araiza had to wait until the smoke cleared and then some before finding a new home.

So far this year, Araiza is averaging 49.4 yards/punt, good for 10th in the NFL. Over 41 percent of his punts are being downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line as well. Just last week in a close win over the Chargers, Araiza averaged over 51 yards/punt in a game decided by only two points—making field position a vital component for the Chiefs' win.