The New Orleans Saints are one of the best NFL teams when it comes to finding undrafted talents among the pool of free agents. Their success has been unprecedented in recent years, as they have managed to turn many players into viable NFL starters or role players. Going back a bit to Chris Ivory, Garrett Hartley, Pierre Thomas, Steve Weatherford, or even recently with Rashid Shaheed, Deonte Harty, Juwan Johnson, Carl Granderson, and J.T. Gray, they have truly done an impressive job amassing talent.
This may continue with their 2025 class of signees, as they have found a multitude of quality prospects who could end up making an impact on the NFL roster. One of the most notable additions was once again a special-teams player, and could signify a new beginning at the punter position, with Alabama punter James Burnip. He has displayed exceptional prowess in college, and according to Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report, he is the UDFA with the best chance of making the Saints roster:
“Only one punter, Jeremy Crawshaw, heard his name called during the 2025 NFL draft. An argument can be made in James Burnip’s favor that he was the top-rated prospect at the position despite going undrafted.”
“The New Orleans Saints are definitely positioned to upgrade on special teams with Burnip now in the mix.”
“A season ago, the Saints signed another undrafted punter in Matthew Hayball. The rookie finished 30th and 25th in punting average and net punting average, respectively. To be fair, Hayball did an excellent job as a directional punter with good hangtime to minimize returns.”
“A fellow Australian, Burnip outperformed each of the two previously mentioned numbers during his final season on campus, while getting excellent hangtime and minimal return yardage.”
Burnip’s 2024 and 2023 seasons were truly outstanding, especially the latter, where on 59 punts he accrued 2,806 yards, good for 47.6 yards per punt, with a longest punt of 67 yards. He has exceptional punting form and great size at 6-foot-6, 236 pounds. He will no doubt be given an opportunity to win the job over Matthew Hayball after last season, and could end up taking it, given he was a highly sought-after player in the class. The Saints made the same commitment to both punters: standard three-year contracts with $35,000 guaranteed, including a $10,000 signing bonus. That suggests they view both players equally.