National Football League

Could rookie punter Bradley Pinion overtake Andy Lee?

Published Jun. 4, 2015 1:20 p.m. ET

foxsports

When the San Francisco 49ers drafted punter Bradley Pinion in the fifth-round of the draft, many 'draft experts' and fans took notice and thought the 49ers might be reaching a bit and could have possibly filled other needs.

Now that Pinion is out on the field and showing what he can do, the pick does not look quite as crazy as it may have seemed a month ago.

The 49ers have one of the premiere punters in the game in Andy Lee. So are the 49ers ready to toss their pro-bowl punter to the side for a rookie?

"I mean you're seeing the same thing we're seeing," head coach Jim Tomsula said last week of Pinion, via ESPN. "He's booting it. But again, you don't have a live rush. We're not going to christen anybody anywhere right now. Good guy to be around and working hard."

Pinion doesn't know if he will win the job, but was told coming into camp that he will have every opportunity to be the starting punter week 1.

"They told me it's going to be an open competition," Pinion said. "Nothing's given to anybody. I'm confident in my abilities. But, like y'all said, Andy's been in the league a long time and he's a great punter. There's a reason he's been in the league for almost 10 years. They said it's an open competition and let the best person win."

GM Trent Baalke, who was responsible for picking Pinion, wants both guys to compete and try to win the starting job.

"First thing, what we saw in Bradley is a big, strong-legged punter that also kicks off," Baalke said. "What it means for Andy, no different than any other position. You come in and you compete. It's not a message to Andy at all.

"It's not Bradley's job; it's Andy's job. It's Brad's job to come in and win that job."

(h/t ESPN)