So far, this has been a terrific season for Raiders punter Marquette King.
King ranks No. 2 in the NFL with an average of 50.6 yards per punt and is No. 8 in net average at 42.4. He’s also put 15 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
After coming to the Raiders as an undrafted free agent with a strong leg, King has improved his game every season. He now not only has a strong leg, but is better at directional punts and higher, shorter kicks.
Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said King has “done a great job of developing himself.”
He added, too, that special team coordinator Brad Seely and assistant special teams coach Tracy Smith have worked with King to refine his game the past two seasons.
“They’ve done a tremendous job with him on the fundamentals of playing the position, all that it takes to play that position,” he said. “Not just kicking the ball, kicking the ball directionally, the holes, the whole package. He’s grown as a player in that way. He’s definitely an asset for us and we need that.”
King also turned in a great play this past Sunday in the victory over Jacksonville that improved the Raiders to 5-2 this season.
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On a fourth-and-24 punting situation in the fourth quarter, King picked up a rare bad snap by long snapper Jon Condo and – as defenders started to close in – burst through a gap around the right side for 27 yards and a first down. The Raiders would go on to score a touchdown on the drive.
“I just picked the ball up and started running,” King told reporters after the game. “After I passed the orange sticks (for a first down) I got a little light-headed and realized I’m really running the ball right now. It’s been since high school that I ran from the punting formation.”
Quarterback Derek Carr enjoyed watching the play.
“That was a big play,” Carr said. “It’s a team game and the biggest play of the day came from our punter. Usually it’s him putting it inside the 5. This time it was on an explosive run. It was fun to watch. I got a good kick out of it. Hopefully we don’t have to put him in too many more situations like that.”
Meanwhile, King’s performance as a punter likely had even more of an impact. He averaged 54.6 yards per punt and had a net average of 50.6. Plus, four of his five punts were downed inside the 20.
The Raiders have remained in Florida this week to practice and prepare for this Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. Kickoff is set for 10 a.m. in the Bay Area.
