Getty Jack Fox boots the ball against Jacksonville.
It’s been a lost year for the Detroit Lions in plenty of aspects on the field, but one of the biggest positives has been the development of Jack Fox at punter.
Fox has been great from the start of the season all the way through now, and is beginning to get some appropriate amounts of love as a result. Recently, Pro Football Focus also had Fox getting the love. As it stands now, Fox was on their All-Pro list.
It’s quite a feather in the cap for the team’s punter to get this status, and there’s no doubting the fact he’s been great this season for the Lions. In September, Fox was the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month. That’s a hard feat to accomplish, so it only points to what Fox was able to do in a short amount of time.
Fox came to the Lions as a signing and many folks likely didn’t know what to expect. Now, though, they’ve learned to accept greatness from the kid, which might culminate in him getting some big time recognition when the season concludes.
Stats Show Jack Fox NFL’s Top Punter
Fox has been elite thus far for the Lions, and he is far and away the best punter in the league so far according to Pro Football Focus metrics. A recent look at those metrics found Fox essentially running away with the top punter title early on in the 2020 season.
Fox has shown off in a big way this season with leg strength as well as accuracy. Against the Arizona Cardinals, his punt pinned the team deep in their own territory late which allowed Detroit a chance to flip field position and eventually tie the game. Fox nearly had another superb pin, but Detroit’s gunner was ruled to have been in the end zone, nullifying the kick.
Fox has been everything a young punter needs to be, and hasn’t shown any jitters at all with the leg, which has been amazing to note. Certainly, the Lions are in good hands with Fox already and moving forward as well.
Jack Fox Stats
Since taking over the punting job for Sam Martin who departed in free agency, Fox has been nothing if not dominant. He had to win an early season battle to earn the right to punt in camp, but once he overcame that, the sky was truthfully the limit. This season, Fox has some impressive numbers to his credit including a 50.3 average which is first in the NFL. Additionally, Fox’s long punt of 67 yards is tied for the fifth longest boot in the league, and he’s pinned 19 punts inside the 20 yard line, good for a tie in the sixth position in terms of his peer group.
With numbers like that, it’s clear the Lions have more than likely locked down their punting position well into the future. That’s great news of course, and the hope is that Fox can get some of the love for the role he has played in that special teams resurgence in Detroit.