3 Punters the Browns Can Target to Replace Corey Bojorquez in Free Agency
3. Daniel Whelan
Daniel Whelan is maybe a "wishful thinking" pick, but it wouldn't feel right to not include him.
After going undrafted in 2022 and playing a season in the XFL in 2023, Whelan earned a job with the Green Bay Packers for the 2023 season, and the Irish-born punter was terrific.
PFF graded Whelan out as the league's eighth-best punter (second-best among free agents, trailing only Bojorquez), and he stood out by ranking No. 6 in hangtime, only allowing returns on 36.1% of his punts and pinning opponents inside the twenty 23 times while only recording 3 touchbacks.
Whelan also kicked in Green Bay for the 2023 season, so he's no stranger to the kind of tough weather conditions he may face (both as a punter and as a holder for the field goal unit) playing winter home games in Cleveland.
Whelan is an exclusive-rights free agent, so the Packers will have the first shot at extending him a qualifying offer. But if they don't, Whelan effectively becomes an unrestricted free agent (the Packers don't get the right to match, and don't receive compensation if he signs elsewhere). He also won't count toward the NFL's compensatory pick formula — making him even more appealing than a typical unrestricted free agent.
That catch makes this one a bit of a dream scenario (the Packers will likely extend the qualifying offer to Whelan), but if he's on the market and the Browns have decided to move on from Bojorquez, then Whelan should be Cleveland's top target.
The Browns have some work to do this offseason to go back to the playoffs next year. They currently have the third-best odds (+550) in the AFC North to win the division on FanDuel Sportsbook. Head over to FanDuel, claim your sign-up bonus, and back the Browns.
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