Saints special teams depth chart predictions after 2022 NFL Draft

Punter: Blake Gillikin

Reserves: Daniel Whelan

It was sad to see Thomas Morstead go but Saints fans weren’t as pained without him in the black and gold once they saw what Blake Gillikin could do.

The Penn State product spent the 2020 season on New Orleans’ practice squad and the team knew he could be quite the weapon. When it was time to move on from Morstead, they promoted Gillikin and the rest is history.

Gillikin finished his rookie campaign notching an average of 47.7 yards per punt with a long of 63 yards. The kid had a boot and he wasn’t afraid to use his powers for good. Pinning the opposing offense deep into their own territory allowed the Saints’ defense to pin their ears back and go for the jugular and that worked out well for them.

The only other punter on the roster is Daniel Whelan, who signed with the team as an undrafted free agent. Whelan spent his collegiate career at UC Davis. He doesn’t have a realistic shot at making the team but perhaps the team will keep him stashed on the practice squad in case Gillikin has to miss time but this is Gillikin’s job for probably at least the next decade. The Saints would be fools not to keep him long-term.