Browns punter Corey Bojorquez named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Each week during the season, the NFL recognizes one player from each conference as the Player of the Week. One is chosen for offense, defense, and special teams.

Those chosen for the Week 17 AFC games were RB Austin Ekeler of the Los Angeles Chargers for the offensive accolades, DB Kyle Dugger of the New England Patriots with defense, and punter Corey Bojorquez of the Browns.

Now, on the count of three let’s all exclaim: IT’S ABOUT FRIGGIN’ TIME!

All year long we here at DBN have been putting out the message that Bojo is having a Pro Bowl season. He was listed as a positive in this week’s Brownies & Frownies.

Right out of the gate in Week 1 against Carolina, here is the dialogue from his Brownie:

P Corey Bojorquez – First punt dropped at the five, Next kick out on the nine. What a weapon. Finished with four kicks for 187 yards with a 46.8 average and two punts dropped inside the 20.

The free agent signee has been mentioned in the Brownies section seven times and the Milk Bones category another three. What this means is that someone has been paying attention to that huge leg of his.

LINK: BROWNIES & FROWNIES – RAVENS WEEK 7

Against Tampa Bay, the narrative was this:

P Corey Bojorquez had nice punts to the 10 and 13 as the third quarter was winding down. He had six kicks for a 54.8 average. When is this guy going to win the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week?

So the fact that he is now getting recognized is long overdue, to say the least.

Bojorquez (pronounced buh-hor-kez) has tremendous leg strength which is crucial for punters who attempt to get the ball downfield in FirstEnergy Stadium on days when the wind swirls off Lake Erie especially coming from the southwest. He is right handed but left-footed. This means his punts spin counterclockwise so the ball approaches the kick returner with an atypical spin which is much more difficult to catch cleanly.

GM Andrew Berry saw a definite need for upgrades to every special teams position with the exception of Charley Hughlett the long snapper. Berry then signed return specialist Jakeem Grant away from Chicago, the Packers’ Bojorquez, and drafted kicker Cade York to complete his trifecta.
Every week Bojo does something significant. He is famous for booming the kick and then it lands inside the five-yard line. Against Houston, he had six punts for a 51.8 average with four dropped inside the 20. With 10:38 left in the third quarter, his punt went out at the one which eventually became the Denzel Ward defensive fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Here are some of his highlights: 63-yard punt against the Jets, 62-yarder versus Atlanta, 76 yards in the first Ravens game, and 70 yards in the second of the series, and then he nailed a 65-yarder last week against Washington.

After he was signed away from Green Bay in the off-season, there were concerns that he was not a good cold-weather kicker, and that his holds on field goals and extra points have had a negative effect on his kickers.

He had a lot of issues holding for Packers kicker Mason Crosby during the cold weather months while in Green Bay. In fact, he was horrible. Crosby’s field goal completion percentage dropped from 100% for the 2021 season to 73.5% with Bojorquez as his holder.

Before Green Bay he was the punter in Buffalo. The kicker when he arrived was Stephen Hauschka. In 2017, Hauschka had an 87.9 completion percentage. The following year with Bojorquez as his holder dropped to 78.6% for two consecutive years.

And now York is having issues. Might be something to consider.

Currently, Bojorquez’s stats are he is ranked 8^th in the league in yards per punt average at 48.5 which is less than six yards off the top slot. His long of 76 yards places him second and is 21st in net yards with 2,346. Bojo is seventh in touchbacks and has not had a touchdown run back this season. He is bottom-third in total punts (57) which is a good thing. He does have a weakness of not landing the ball inside the 20-yard line and is ranked 17^th with just 23 kicks but had two magnificent kicks land inside the five in the Washington game.

What a weapon Bojorquez has been this year.

The Browns have had the “Scottish Hammer” and now possess the “Bojo Bomb.”