Mitch

Wishnowsky

San Francisco punter Mitch Wishnowsky injured his back in the team’s Week 10 win over the Bucs, putting his availability for Week 11 in doubt. O’Donnell will be called up from the practice squad if he can’t go. O’Donnell last punted for the Packers in 2022. He averaged a subpar 44.5 yards per punt and did not kick for a team in 2023.

This keeps the 30-year-old ex-rugby star signed through 2026. Wishnowsky, a 2019 fourth-round pick, has averaged over 45 yards per punt for the 49ers the last three seasons.

This makes Wishnowsky the first 2019 draft pick to sign his rookie contract. A four-year starter at Utah, Wishnowski earned second-team All-American honors his final two seasons. Already 27 years old after taking time off from football following an injury-ruined Aussie Rules career, Wishnowski is a talented enough power punter to become a multi-year solution at a position where players can excel into their 40s and age isn’t a serious concern.

Wishnowski (6’2/220) punted all four years for the Utes, winning the 2016 Ray Guy Award before earning third- and second-team All-American honors in his final two seasons. Already 27 years old after taking time off from football following an injury-ruined Aussie Rules career, Wishnowski is a talented enough power punter to become a multi-year solution at a position where players can excel into their 40s and age isn’t a serious concern. Still, spending an early Day 3 pick on a punter is a questionable decision despite the 49ers’ need at the position.

Wishnowski (6’2/220) punted all four years for the Utes, winning the 2016 Ray Guy Award before earning third- and second-team All-American honors in his final two seasons. Already 27 years old after taking time off from football following an injury-ruined Aussie Rules career, Wishnowski is a talented enough power punter to become a multi-year solution at a position where players can excel into their 40s and age isn’t a serious concern. Still, spending an early Day 3 pick on a punter is a questionable decision despite the 49ers’ need at the position.

#PunterBlurbs are awesome, so hang with us. Wishnowsky has been on the NFL radar ever since his 2016 Ray Guy Award, which honors the top punter in the country. He turned his collegiate work into a Senior Bowl invitation, and he’ll likely end up on a 53-man roster this fall.

Wishnowsky is widely considered one of the best punters in college football, and just might be the best. He won the Ray Guy award in 2016, and he’s a finalist for the award again this year after also making the top three as a junior last year. It shouldn’t shock anyone if he’s one of the first punters drafted in 2018.

The Ray Guy is handed out annually to the best collegiate punter. Wishnowsky wins the honor based on the strength of a 2016 season in which he clocked 28 punts at least 50 yards and averaged 44.9 yards in net punting. Utah has themselves quite the hot streak going when it comes to this department, as Wishnowsky’s win gave the Utes three consecutive Ray Guys. The previous two had been won by Tom Hackett.