Bronco Nation News is taking a look at 25 questions about the Boise State football team heading into the 2024 season. Next up in our series is No. 23: What are the chances punter James Ferguson-Reynolds will leave early for the NFL Draft?
Punters don’t get drafted very often. Could Boise State’s James Ferguson-Reynolds make history and be one of them?
It certainly seems possible at some point in the next two years – but what are the chances a strong 2024 propels Ferguson-Reynolds to leave early for the 2025 NFL Draft?
Not as crazy as you might think.
Ferguson-Reynolds led the nation in punting last season at 49.73 yards per punt, which set a single-season program record and ranked third in Mountain West history and sixth in NCAA history.
He won numerous awards and accolades including being named a Second Team All-American by the ACFA and Sports Illustrated and a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press and College Football News. He was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist and a First Team All-Mountain West selection.
Ferguson-Reynolds clearly one of the top returning punters in the nation – arguably the best – heading into 2024. But what’s that mean for his chances of getting drafted in the NFL as early as 2025?
Punters don’t get drafted much. It happened just once last year (Tory Taylor of Iowa was a fourth round pick by the Bears) but seven punters were taken between the 2022 and 2023 drafts.
Since Jerrel Wilson became the first punter to get drafted way back in 1963 when he was a 17th round pick by the Rams, the NFL has seen 164 punters get selected in 62 years. That’s an average of just 2.64 preyer.
But Ferguson-Reynolds appears to be special. And with a strong 2024 season, we could have another storyline to follow – will JFR join Ashton Jeanty as potential early entrants into the 2025 NFL Draft?
Way to go BJ. All we need is to whisper out loud what we don’t want to get the guy thinking.