Can fourth down be fun for Panthers this season? All-pro punter Johnny Hekker thinks so
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Panthers training camp
A quarterback battle. An ever-evolving roster. And a whole lot of questions heading into the season. This is the latest on the Carolina Panthers from our reporters and photographers in Spartanburg.
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Say this for the Carolina Panthers: When their offense sputters this year, they’ve got a heck of a punter to rescue them on fourth down.
You may not be familiar with the name Johnny Hekker. But in punting circles, he’s practically royalty. The NFL placed him on its All-Decade team for the 2010s. He’s been a first-team All-Pro player four times, and has kicked in two Super Bowls over the past four years, setting the all-time Super Bowl record in one of them with a 65-yard punt.
Hekker is new to the Panthers, though, because the Los Angeles Rams released him in March, just a few weeks after Hekker won a Super Bowl ring with L.A. He had been the Rams’ longest-tenured player, playing in every single game for the franchise from 2012-21.
Hekker, 32, would like to prove that the Rams made a mistake, and the easiest way to do it would be to have an exemplary season punting for the Panthers.
Hekker also brings an element to the punt game that the Panthers have never really had before. A former high school quarterback good enough to receive some recruiting attention, he still throws a tight spiral. Hekker has thrown 23 passes over the course of his NFL career on fakes, completing 14.
“I’ve had a bunch of success with that,” Hekker said of his fake-punt acumen. “So we’re going to play an exciting brand of football.”
Wait… you mean the Panthers’ punts are going to be exciting?
That would be a major change, because they never have been for the Panthers.
When former coach John Fox would say, “A punt is not a bad play,” he meant for all the usual reasons — field position, avoiding turnovers and other boring things like that. The Panthers have had their punters throw exactly four passes off fake punts in 27 seasons, according to the team’s website, or approximately one every seven years.
Hekker, though, said he would like to complete at least “a couple of completions under my belt” this year for the Panthers. He said in his first Panther press conference that on fourth downs fans shouldn’t “go get that hot dog or beer just yet” because he was ready to “whip some balls around.”
“We’re going to be aggressive on special teams, and an aggressive team overall,” Hekker said.
Far more often than faking it, though, Hekker will be kicking the ball. That’s what the Panthers signed Hekker to do in March, giving him a three-year, $7.6-million contract in the offseason, which is currently the ninth-most lucrative NFL contract for punters, according to overthecap.com.
Because he owns a Super Bowl ring and has had so much league success, Panthers coach Matt Rhule said, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Hekker has earned respect in the locker room already. “He’s a key addition not only to the field of play, but also to the fabric of our team,” Rhule said. “His word carries a lot of weight.”
As an example, Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield approached Hekker somewhat delicately when he wanted to negotiate for the No. 6, which Hekker had been assigned for the Panthers. Mayfield said he made sure not to try to make any demands of Hekker for the number that Mayfield coveted, in part because he was well aware of Hekker’s strong history in the league. The two agreed on a compromise, which involved Mayfield paying Hekker an undisclosed sum — Hekker later put up a funny tweet about the transaction — and Hekker will now wear No. 10 for the Panthers this season.
Hekker has “a bunch of different punts he can do,” according to Rhule, and most of them involve kicking the ball to a particular spot.
“I’m a guy who’s committed to being a directional punter,” Hekker said. “I’m really going to try and limit returns and do what I can to make sure that the returners don’t get a chance to catch it with a bunch of space and do whatever they want.”
Hekker also will be the holder on kicks for placekicker Zane Gonzalez, a job Hekker has also held throughout his career.
The Hekkers have moved their young family across America to Charlotte. On a recent practice day in Spartanburg, his wife Makayla brought along their 4-year-old son Jett and their 23-month-old daughter, Maya. After practice, Maya sat on Hekker’s shoulders as we conducted an interview.
“We’re really enjoying a lot of great parks and places to explore for our kids and family in Charlotte,” Hekker said.
As for punting — or faking the punt — Hekker has that pretty well down already after doing it for a decade in the NFL. His goals now involve learning every one of his new teammates’ names at all positions and making sure his chemistry with Gonzalez and long snapper J.J. Jansen is on point.
As for fourth downs when he trots out there? Hekker asks that you just wait for the commercial break before leaving your seat. He promises it will be worth it.
This story was originally published August 6, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Can fourth down be fun for Panthers this season? All-pro punter Johnny Hekker thinks so."
