When long-time Saints punter Thomas Morstead was released by the New Orleans Saints last March, the Saints clearly knew something that we didn’t. It was Blake Gillikin time in New Orleans.
From day one, Gillikin had some big shoes to fill by replacing Morstead and that he did in spectacular fashion. To say the 24-year-old had a pretty impressive season is really an understatement. Gillikin averaged 47.7 yards per punt, which was the team’s highest since their 2016 season and he was ranked 7th among all punters in NFL. With a total of 83 punts for the 2021 season, 29 of them landed inside the 20-yard line.