Minnesota Vikings

Should they stay or go? 2017 Vikings free-agents: Jeff Locke

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:46 p.m. ET

Fansided, Adam Patrick/FanSided via The Viking Age

The Minnesota Vikings punter has been anything but special during his time on the team over the past four seasons. Is it time for the Vikings to move on?Getting selected in the NFL Draft is a rare occurrence for most who spend their time on the football field in college. Less than 275 players each year are given the privilege to say that they have been lucky enough to be drafted.What is even more rare is to get picked in the draft as a punter. Of the 1,019 players that have been drafted in the past four years, only seven (less than one percent) have been punters.One of those seven lucky players to be selected was Jeff Locke back in 2013 when the Minnesota Vikings selected the former UCLA punter with the 155th overall pick in the fifth round of the draft. The Vikings were not necessarily in dire need of a new punter at the time, but the team’s decision in the draft was an obvious sign that they wanted to move on from their current punter in the outspoken Chris Kluwe.Less than two weeks after drafting Locke, Minnesota did just that and released Kluwe from the team.Fast forward to four years later and Locke is now preparing to hit free-agency this offseason. Has he done enough to earn a new deal with the Vikings or will the team opt to look elsewhere for a starting punter?Next: The Vikings should keep Locke in Minnesota

The Vikings should keep Locke in Minnesota:

Despite his struggles to be consistent over his career, Locke stepped up his game in 2016 for the Vikings.

Minnesota’s punter tied a single-season team record this year (also held by Kluwe) with 34 punts landing inside the opponent’s own 20-yard line. His bomb of a 72-yard punt during the Vikings’ Week 11 win over the Arizona Cardinals was also the longest punt he has had during his four years in the NFL.

Did it seem to help that Locke was able to play more than half of his games indoors in 2016? Most likely, considering that 23 of the 34 punts he had land inside the opposition’s 20-yard line last season occurred during a game that was played inside (eight in Minnesota, one in Detroit).

Since the Vikings likely have no plans to tear down their brand new, state-of-the-art indoor facility known as U.S. Bank Stadium anytime soon, Locke seems to have a good chance at continuing his progression if the team chooses to keep him in town.

Dec 10, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings punter Jeff Locke (18) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Vikings 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It is time for Minnesota to let Locke walk:

In terms of leg strength, the Vikings’ punter has one of the weakest in the NFL. His yearly punting average has been toward the bottom of the league since he first began with Minnesota in 2013.

Locke has never finished a season ranked higher than 23rd when it comes to average yards per punt and his average was almost a whole seven yards less than the NFL’s leader in 2016 (Pat McAfee). In addition, of the 23 players to punt the ball at least 250 times from 2012 to 2016, the Vikings’ punter ranks dead last with a 43.2 average.

The devil’s advocate in this situation could say that Minnesota’s punting strategy is not always necessarily to kick the ball as far as possible each time, but to put their coverage team in the best possible scenario instead. However, having a punter with a big leg (something that Locke does not possess) would come in handy for situations when the Vikings are pinned deep in their own territory.

Taking a gander at some of the incoming rookie punters during or after the draft may be something Minnesota may want to consider this offseason.

What should the Vikings do?:

Surprisingly, the best option for Minnesota may be to actually re-sign Locke. Not to a contract that is crazy long or anything like that, but a two or three year deal is something that the Vikings should consider for their free-agent punter.

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But why not look elsewhere? Well, Locke’s role in Minnesota is really much more elaborate than the average fan may have the ability to notice.

His relationships and habits built with both the team’s long snapper Kevin McDermott and special teams coach Mike Priefer are aspects of Locke’s job that are almost invaluable. If a new punter were to be named the starter, those relationships would basically have to be built from the start once again.

His ability to kick well indoors may actually also be a bigger factor than some may realize. The Vikings will be playing 10 of their games inside next season, possibly 10 in 2018, and possibly 12 2019.

What exactly Minnesota envisions for Locke’s future with the team is still something that remains up in the air at this moment. But his performance in 2016 may have just been enough to keep him in town for a few more years.