OMG... lets draft this guy. He's good for so many puns!
With Jason Baker being cut less than a week ago it appears the Panthers will now turn their sights to the draft in order to find their punter of the future. The highest a punter has been selected in the last 10 years was Nick Harris, who was a 4th round pick out of California taken back in 2001.
Now, over 10 years later there's another punter from Cal causing a stir, Bryan Anger- and it would be foolish for the Panthers not to invest a pick in a player with his skill. We have preconcieved notions about the role of the punter, but if you manage to hit on a really good one you can control special teams for much of the game. In the occasions where the offense isn't able to score it would be nice to have a really solid punter in all situations to help the defense, and in this way Anger has both a booming leg and great directional skills.
More after the jump
It's pretty rare you see a highlight video for a punter, but Anger has a few. Keep in mind this video is from 2008, when Anger was a true freshman- the results are astonishing.
As you can see it's Anger's leg that is his biggest attribute. He has an absolutely insane mix of distance and hangtime we haven't had from the position since Todd Sauerbrun.
So, I ask you CSR community- if it took a 4th or 5th rounder to get a punter of his caliber would you do it?