Johnny Hekker

At 34 years old, Johnny Hekker has this physical status:

Johnny Robert Hekker (born February 8, 1990) is an American football punter for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football at Oregon State.

In 2012, the Rams signed him as an undrafted free agent.

Hekker is a member of First Team All-Pro and a four-time Pro-Bowler.

With a 65-yarder that he delivered in Super Bowl LIII, he holds the NFL record for the longest punt in Super Bowl history.

Early years

Hekker attended Bothell High School in Bothell, Washington, and graduated in 2008. He was the starting quarterback and punter of the Cougars football team during his senior year, leading them to a State Championship game that they lost. In his senior year, he also played basketball for the school for a short time.

Personal life

Hekker is a Christian. He and his wife, Makayla, have two children together.

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College career

While attending Oregon State University, Hekker played for the Oregon State Beavers football team. In 2008, Hekker was named the Sun Bowl Special Teams MVP after averaging 45 yards on ten punts, including boots of 57 and 52 yards in the fourth quarter of a 3–0 victory over the Pitt Panthers. He was a four-year starter and spent his college career as one of Oregon State's most prolific punters. In 2011, he set a single-game school record of 52.5 (six punts for 315 yards) against the Utah Utes.

With a respectable 41.3 yards per punt, Hekker ranked third-best in career-punt yardage in school history. He received the College Football Performance Award Punter of the Week in 2011 and was selected to the Ray Guy Award Watch List every year, recognizing the country's best punter. In 2009, he was a semi-finalist for the Ray Guy Award and the Phil Steele All-Pac-10 Second Team. Hekker had 52 punts over 50 yards, 17 of which were when he had six different games with at least one punt of 60+ yards.

Hekker was named a member of the Pac-12 Conference Honorable Mention for his 87 career punts downed inside the 20-yard line in 2011. In every game but one in 2010.

Hekker had several memorable kicks as a Beaver. One of the two longest punts in school history was made. In 2010, the punt against the United StatesC went for 74 yards. When he shanked the ball for a loss of 4 yards, it was another negative-yardage foul.

Hekker has also served as the placekicks' holder for three years.

Professional career

Hekker was signed as an undrafted free agent with the St. Louis Rams in 2012.

Hekker was nominated for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week after posting three punts for 165 yards and a 48.7 net punt average, with the longest punt being 66 yards. Hekker threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Danny Amendola on a fake field goal two weeks later against the Seattle Seahawks. He was the first Rams quarterback to throw a touchdown pass since the AFL-NFL merger.

Hekker set a Rams franchise record of 56.0 against the Arizona Cardinals in one game, beating the previous record of 56.0 set by Donnie Jones on three other occasions. Hekker made seven punts for 398 yards in the game, with three of his punts being blocked within the opponent's 20-yard line. He had two punts of 60 plus yards. He stopped Patrick Peterson from returning a punt against St. Louis, as he did in both rivalry games last season. Hekker was once more nominated for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week.

Hekker converted on two fake punt passes for 40 yards against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10, while having four punt passes with a 31-yard average and placing one of them inside the opponent's 20-yard line in a 24-24 draw. After gunner Rodney McLeod was left naked, he called an audible by Hekker himself on the first of the two passes. Hekker was once more nominated for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week.

Hekker's rookie season saw him score 82 punts for 3,756 net yards for a 45.8 average.

Hekker broke the single season record for net punt yards (44.2), which was previously held by Andy Lee (44) in 2006 for the San Francisco 49ers. Hekker's second season was an excellent result with 78 punts for 3,609 net yards. Hekker's average was 46.27.

In a game against the Seattle Seahawks on October 19, 2014, Hekker gave running back Benny Cunningham a pass on a fake punt with 1:14 remaining.

Hekker has agreed to a six-year, $18 million contract extension with a minimum of $9 million. His contract is the first to be granted to a punter. Hekker finished the 2014 season with 80 punts for 3,721 net yards for a 46.51 average.

Hekker was suspended 15 yards for unnecessary roughness for shoving Cliff Avril after a 45-yard foul ball on December 27, 2015. Hekker collapsed to the ground later in the game as retaliation because Michael Bennett was supposed to strike him as punishment. In a post-game interview, Bennett said Hekker behaving "like a little girl."

Hekker led the league in net punting average in 2015 and was named as an All-Pro by the Associated Press for the second time. With 96 and 4,601, respectively, he also led the league in punts and punting yards.

Hekker set NFL records for punts downed inside the 20 (51), had just one touchback, and broke his own record for net puntyardage (46.0). Some pundits believed his season to be the best punding season ever.

Hekker was selected to his third Pro Bowl and his third All-Pro team. Hekker finished the 2016 season with 98 punts for a 47.76 average.

Hekker signed a two-year deal with the Rams through the 2022 season on September 11, 2017.

Hekker connected Josh Reynolds with a 28-yard pass against the Washington Redskins in Week 2 on a lucrative fake punt. He was named to his fourth Pro Bowl on December 19, 2017.

Hekker finished the 2017 season with 65 punts for 3,113 net yards on a 47.89 average. The Rams finished the season with an 11–5 record and advanced to the playoffs as the #3 seed. In the 26-13 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card Round, Hekker had five punts for 218 net yards for a 43.6 average.

Hekker (typically the holder) had to take overkicking duties when placekicker Greg Zuerlein was injured in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. In the 34–0 win, he converted an extra point and a field goal. Hekker ran three yards on a fake field goal attempt during a Week 9-35 road loss to the New Orleans Saints, but was suspended a yard shy of the first down marker.

Hekker also completed two of four pass attempts for 19 yards on fake punt attempts, with both completions resulting in first downs for the Rams. He punted a career-low 43 times for 1,992 yards (46.3 percent), but he only once punched more than twice in any game due to the Rams' prolific offense. For the first time since 2014, Hekker was unable to win Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro accolades.

In the NFC Championship Game, the Rams defeated both the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints. Hekker punt and throws a 12-yard pass to Sam Shields early in the second quarter, putting the Rams in position to get their first points of the season. He made a 66-yard punt against the New England Patriots, breaking the Patriots' Ryan Allen record of a 60-yard punt, which Hekker played with at Oregon State. Hekker punched nine times for 417 yards, causing the Rams to lose the Super Bowl 13–3.

Hekker threw a pass on a fake punt intercepted by running back Trey Edmunds in Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. For the fourth time in his career, he averaged more than 47 yards per kick on the season.

Hekker punched five times, all five of them were downed at or inside the opposing 10-yard line during Week 7 against the Chicago Bears. In the Rams' 24–10 victory on Monday Night Football, he averaged 44.2 yards per punt with a long of 63, earning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for the fourth time in his career. Hekker was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month on the third day, the third time he had been honoured.

Hekker's totalled 51 punts for 2,252 yards in 2021, with 23 of 51 punts being downed inside the opponent's own 20-yard line. Hekker punted all five of his punts inside the opposing 20-yard line in their first playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals, earning him praise from quarterback Matthew Stafford, who said Hekker's punting was a crucial factor in the Rams' 34-11 victory. When the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals by a score of 23-20 and punted six times for 261 yards in the game, he won Super Bowl LVI.

Hekker was released by the Rams on March 16, 2022.

Hekker signed a three-year, $7.6 million contract with the Carolina Panthers on March 18, 2022.

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