Detroit Lions’ punter Jack Fox was recognized on PFF’s 2020 first-team All-Pro team, while center Frank Ragnow landed on the second-team.
“Few people know it, but there might be nothing PFF does better than punting grades, which reward players for a combination of hang time, location and distance, all according to where they are kicking from on the field,” Sam Monson said. “Detroit’s Jack Fox has been the best punter in the league all season long by PFF grades and conveniently has the net and gross averages to back it up, however easily those can be manipulated to not actually tell an accurate story.“
Fox’s net punting average (44.8-yards) was second league-wide in pure statistics, his gross average (49.1) ranked third, while PFF marked his hangtime at 4.55 seconds per punt average, third in their system.
At times, Fox led in all three of the above categories, and while he didn’t land at the top in any one at season’s end, he was the only punter to finish in the top-3 in each category. That was a big reason he earned his first Pro Bowl nomination and was recognized here.
Fox played 2020 on a prove-it one-year deal and he enters the offseason as an Exclusive Rights Free Agent, meaning he can only negotiate his 2021 year contract with the Lions. This will be an easy deal to get done.
Ragnow finishes the 2020 season as PFF’s second highest-graded center on the year, earning the third-highest run-blocking grade and tenth-highest pass-blocking grade at the position.
