NFL All-Rookie Team 2019: Listing the most deserving players

Special Teams

Kicker – Matt Gay, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Punter – Jamie Gillan, Cleveland Browns

Return specialist – Mecole Hardman, Kansas City Chiefs

Special teamer – Drue Tranquill, Los Angeles Chargers

We have definitely had better choices for the kicker position in recent years, but Matt Gay was much more dependable than anything the Bucs have had in recent years and he was a consistent threat from distance, going five of eight from 50+ yards and converting on 77.1 overall of his field goal attempts. I thought about making this a two-pack from Utah with the 49ers’ Mitch Wishowsky, but Gillan put up better numbers across the board, finishing top ten in average punt yards, 28 downed inside the 20 and a miniature 2.4 yards allowed per return.

I had a pretty tough choice with return specialists between Hardman and the Saints’ Deonte Harris, as both finished top three league-wide in combined return yards and returns of 20+ yards, as well as taking one to the house each. Harris actually slightly outranked Hardman in most categories, but he also fumbled three times and Hardman only did on offense, even if the Saints rookie found a way to pounce on two of them. And finally, I picked Tranquill as my special teams ace, since he blocked two punts and recorded 11 tackles on kick and punt coverage combined.