Lost in all the turnover on offense and defense this offseason for the Los Angeles Rams were the changes made to the special teams with the arrival of new coordinator Joe DeCamillis.
Punter Johnny Hekker and kicker Matt Gay remain as the foundations of this new-look group. However, the Rams made a surprising move by signing punter Corey Bojorquez in free agency.
The addition of Bojorquez indicates that the Rams plan to hold a competition at punter during training camp. General manager Les Snead has since addressed this speculation by calling it a product of the ‘Nickell Robey-Coleman Bucket’ the team had made in the offseason.
Fortunately, Hekker does not seem to mind having Bojorquez around and has even embraced adding another talent to the mix, via Stu Jackson of the team’s official website:
“I’m honored to be sharing the field with him, trying to learn stuff from him and glean any information I can from what he has, and also share what I have for him, because if we compete and make this a great special teams room to be a part of, then that’s going to help the team in the long run,” Hekker said.
Hekker’s comments are indicative of the team culture head coach Sean McVay and this team have established in recent years. Even if Bojorquez’s presence provides an element of competition, having a surplus of talent at key positions is a good problem to have leading up to the 2021 NFL season.
Of course, Hekker has not shied away from the prospect of ushering in a sense of competition this offseason. His praise for Bojorquez shows that there is plenty to be learned from two players that are each excelling at their position.
It is no secret that Hekker is coming off a down year by the elite standards that he has set through the years. He struggled to find his rhythm after averaging a career-low 45.6 yards per punt during the 2020 campaign, which led to the Rams losing the battle for field position at crucial moments during the season.
Meanwhile, Bojorquez managed to leave an impression on Snead by leading the league with an average of 50.8 yards per punt. He also managed to tie Cincinnati Bengals punter Kevin Huber for the longest punt with 72 yards.
At the very least, it will be interesting to see if Hekker is able to get some power back in his legs by going kick-for-kick with Bojorquez in training camp.
