April 8, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET

New York Giants assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Chris Horton expressed strong confidence in the team’s revamped kicking battery and outlined his ambitious vision during the first day of the 2026 offseason program on Tuesday.

Horton praised Jordan Stout, who signed a record contract, making him the NFL’s highest-paid punter.

“When you look at Jordan’s body of work over time and what he’s done the last four years, he’s put it all together. I think he finally hit the height of his punting career up until this point,” Horton told reporters.

Horton also highlighted Stout’s versatility.

“When you talk about how the game has changed a little bit now that the drive starts starting a little bit further down the field from a kickoff return standpoint, Jordan has the ability to pin people down inside the 10, inside the 5. All those things come together. Not only that, he’s a great holder. Those three things make up a really good punter,” he said.

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Horton emphasized that Stout earned his payday through performance.

“This is a production-based business. When guys perform well, they get compensated for it,” he said.

On veteran kicker Jason Sanders, who missed the previous season with an injury, Horton noted the evaluation relied on prior tape.

“You watch that tape from the year before, and it was outstanding. So there was a kicker out there, a veteran kicker. Just felt like it was an opportunity to bring him in and let’s see what he can do,” Horton said, adding that Sanders is fully healthy. “He’s been ready to go since I think the last four weeks of last season… He’s ready to go, and he’s going to kick well.”

Horton made clear his overarching goal for the unit.

“I want to be the best. He [John Harbaugh] and I talk about this all the time. He did it for 10 years, and he was the best when he did it. Now that I’m in this situation, my goal is, hey, I want to put the players out there, we want to play well, and I want to be the best. That’s a great standard to have,” Horton said.

With Stout’s field-flipping ability and Sanders’ veteran reliability, Horton aims to build one of the league’s elite special teams groups under head coach John Harbaugh.