Riley Dixon is back in Denver. The Broncos announced that they’ve signed the free agent punter. Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets that Dixon will be getting a two-year deal.
Dixon was a seventh-round pick by the Broncos back in 2016 and would go on to earn PFWA All-Rookie Team honors. He spent two years in Denver before getting traded to the Giants, where he’d spend four seasons. Dixon landed more than 42 percent of his punts inside the 20 between the 2019 and 2020 seasons, but after averaging a career-low 44.4 yards per punt in 2021, he was let go.
He caught on with the Rams for 2022 and saw a significant improvement on his average, boosting his yards per punt to a career-high 48.4 yards. If Dixon can continue performing to his standard career levels, he’ll be able to outperform incumbent Corliss Waitman.
The former UDFA averaged 46.6 yards per punt and landed 31.3 percent of his punts inside the 20 last year in Denver. Waitman was tendered as an exclusive rights free agent after the season, but Renck notes that the offer has since been withdrawn.
Go figure. Punters in Denver should be in the top 5 every year due to the elevation advantage over 8 home games – yet nobody they sign has managed much more than the league average for years…
Visiting punters, on the other hand, have averaged about 50 yds/punt.