Raiders Got Kick From Guy in NFL Draft

As the 2024 NFL Draft approaches, we look back at Ray Guy, the greatest punter of All Time, who picked, played, and stayed with the Raiders.

There is one area the Las Vegas Raiders won’t be looking at leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft in April: special teams.

The reason is that the Silver and Black have punter AJ Cole, placekicker Daniel Carlson and long-snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer, perhaps the best player in the league. Cole is also the holder of Carlson’s kicks.

While some of the Raiders' draft picks will eventually play on special teams, they are being selected for their offensive or defensive abilities.

“Cole is by far the best punter in the NFL, and … it’s pretty clear that Daniel Carlson has been one of the best kickers in the league since 2018,” according to a story posted in AZ Sports.com earlier this year.

However, the Raiders made history when they became the first team to select a punter in the first round of the draft. In 1973, they chose Ray Guy of Southern Mississippi with the 23rd overall pick, another daring move by Managing General Partner Al Davis.

The guy immediately became the best punter in the NFL.

“Having Ray Guy meant having a chance to make the playoffs and win the Super Bowl,” Raiders Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown said. “He was just that strong because of his ability to punt–when we needed a long punt, he did it; when we needed a short punt, he did all that. He kept opposing offensive teams back in the hole a majority of the time.

“As a defense, you have a shot any time he’s in the game punting. We didn’t worry about whether they were going to get the ball because no matter where we were on the field, a majority of their offense usually started on the other 20 or inside that sometimes.

The Las Vegas Raiders history lists some of the greatest ever to play the game, like P Ray Guy / © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

“It’s always great to have a weapon like Ray Guy.”

Guy punted 1,049 times for 44,493 yards, a 42.4-yard average, in 14 NFL seasons, all with the Raiders in Oakland and Los Angeles. He had only three blocked punts. In his 11 seasons in which the NFL counted punts that went inside the 20-yard line, he had a total of 209.

His longest punts as a pro went for 77, 72, and 71 yards.

Guy could have averaged more yards per punt, but he intentionally kicked the ball high, so not many of his kicks were returned, and he pinned offenses deep in their own territory, often inside the 20-yard line.

In addition, Guy kicked off for the Raiders, and his long kicks often went into and out of the end zone, preventing runbacks.

Pro Football Hall of Fame historian Joe Horrigan once said of Guy: “He’s the first punter you could look at and say: ‘He won games.’”

Guy was also considered the Raiders’ emergency quarterback and completed two of three passes for 54 yards on fake punts, but he never saw the field on offense because of the chance he might be injured.

“There is no question he was a real football player,” Raiders Hall of Fame Coach John Madden said. “I just didn’t let him play. He was too valuable as a punter. He threw harder than (Kenny) Stabler.

“I used to tell our quarterback: ‘If it gets to third down, just throw the ball away. The worst thing we have to do is let Ray Guy kick it -- and that’s pretty good.”

During the Raiders’ 38-9 victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII, Guy showed his athleticism by making an incredible, one-handed leaping catch of a high snap from center and then punted the ball almost 60 yards down the field.

In addition, Guy played key roles as the Raiders won Super Bowls XI and XV.

Guy was selected first-team All-Pro six times and second-team twice, played in seven Pro Bowls, and was chosen to the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team, the 75th Anniversary Team, and the 100th Anniversary Team.

During the 1976 Pro Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome, one of Guy’s punts hit the gondola and video screen 90 feet above the field.

“That’s the single thing I get asked about the most,” Guy said. “It was nothing like ... pre-planned.”

And one more thing: Guy is the only punter inducted into Canton, Ohio's Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.

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