Long-Snapper Still Remains a Big Question Mark for Packers

Typically long-snapper is a position on a football team that many aren’t going to pay a ton of attention to–and for the most part, there often isn’t a need to. However, that, unfortunately, isn’t the case for the Green Bay Packers.

Among the many issues that the Packers experienced on their special teams unit in 2021, consistency at the long-snapper position was one of them.

After a shaky training camp, Green Bay began the season with Hunter Bradley, who they had drafted in 2018. But in early November, the Packers decided to make a change, cutting Bradley, who was PFF’s lowest-graded long-snapper at that time, and promoting Steven Wirtel from the practice squad.

As far as long-snappers go, Wirtel was an accomplished player at Iowa State, appearing in 51 games while being named a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection. He would also receive an invite to the Senior Bowl as well as the NFL Combine–which were certainly no small feats for a long-snapper.

However, this was Wirtel’s first action in the regular season, and it showed. Like Bradley, Wirtel was inconsistent, and while he is not by any means the sole reason behind the field goal unit’s issues–that group remained wildly inefficient.

Then during the Packers playoff loss to San Francisco, it was Wirtel who was overpowered by Jordan Willis on the blocked punt that gave the 49ers the lead. Wirtel ended the season as PFF’s third-lowest graded long-snapper, including a lower grade than what Bradley had during his time with Green Bay.

Joining Wirtel in camp this summer is undrafted rookie Jack Coco from Georgia Tech. During the 2018 and 2019 seasons, the 6’2″ – 232-pound Coco was the Yellow Jackets’ long-snapper on field goal and extra point attempts. In 2020, he retained those duties while also transitioning to tight end. And then in 2021, he focused solely on the tight end position.

I imagine the hope is that Coco can push Wirtel, but again, he is a rookie who hasn’t held in-game long-snapping duties since 2020, and when he did, he wasn’t the long-snapper on the punt team–so that may come with an added learning curve as well, in addition to what normally comes with moving from college to the NFL.

While finding a good long-snapper has been an issue for Green Bay, it’s not as if they haven’t had a few come through the doors over the years. As Sports Illustrated’s Bill Huber would point out, there are five long-snappers currently on NFL rosters who at one time were members of the Packers.

Hopefully, under Rich Bisaccia’s tutelage, we see some improvement at the long-snapper position for just that reason alone–not to mention that Wirtel now has some experience, and the competition that Coco can potentially provide will be good for both players as well.

But at this point in time, all of that is just speculation–and hope. If this Green Bay Packers special teams unit is going to turn around and take a step forward in 2022, how the long-snapper plays is going to have a big role in doing so–and right now, that very much remains an unknown.