Jamie Gillan trying to prove he deserves Giants’ punting job

‘Scottish Hammer’ had a disappointing 2021 season

Will Jamie Gillan be the punter for the New York Giants in 2022? Let’s discuss that as we continue profiling the team’s 90-man roster.

By the numbers

Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 207
Age: 24
Position: Punter
Experience: 3
Contract: One-year, $1.065 million | 2022 cap hit: $1.065 million

Career to date

The ‘Scottish Hammer’ is a left-footed punter who punted in 44 games over nearly three full seasons for the Cleveland Browns before being released 12 games into the 2021 season.

Gillan signed a reserve/futures deal with the Giants after finishing last season on the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad.

Gillan was outstanding for Cleveland in 2019, with a 74.3 Pro Football Focus grade, a 42.3 yards per punt net average, 39.4 percent of his punts landing inside the opponents’ 20-yard line, only 31.7 percent of his punts being returned and a hang time of 4.53 seconds.

In 12 2021 games, Gillan had a 52.6 PFF grade, a 39.5 yards per punt net, had only 25 percent of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line, allowed 45.2 percent of his punts to be returned and had a hang time of just 4.22 seconds per punt.

Something, obviously, went awry for Gillan from 2019 to 2021. Can the Giants get him back to his 2019 form?

“He’s trying to figure it out, too. He’s a young punter. It’s not like this guy is like Graham (Gano) where he’s been around for years. He’s still trying to figure it out,” special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said. “We’re working every day with him. He’s doing a good job of taking the coaching, and he’s very talented.

“He can do a lot of different things. Obviously, he was a rugby player, but Jamie can do a lot of different things. He’s a talented guy.”

2022 outlook

As we head to training camp, Gillan is the only punter on the Giants’ roster. The Giants are obviously hoping to find the 2019 version of Gillan. If Gillan shows throughout training camp and the preseason that he is more likely to give the Giants the 2021 version, then perhaps the Giants will scour the waiver wire for a better option.