Broncos roster review: Punter Riley Dixon

Riley Dixon, a Denver Broncos seventh round pick from the 2016 NFL Draft, has begun his second stint with the team after five seasons with the New York Giants and then Los Angeles Rams.

Player Profile

Height: 6’4”
Weight: 221 pounds
Age: 29 years old

In hindsight, it was probably a mistake to trade Dixon away to the Giants. The Broncos could have used a quality punter like Dixon over the last five seasons given how poorly the offense has been over that time. But that’s just me crying over spilled milk.

Riley Dixon’s 2023 outlook

Zero preseason games have been played, but it sure seems like we will see a much-improved special teams unit under Special Teams Coordinator Ben Kotwica. He spoke of Dixon quite highly this week as the team prepares for their first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Friday.

“I’ve seen a punter that has hit some balls—I’ve been in the league for 16 years—that has been as good as I’ve seen,” Kotwica said on Tuesday. “Not only hangtime and distance but direction. One of the things that we’re continuing to work with Riley on is transferring the things that we’re seeing on the side into the team period. If you guys were out here yesterday, he had a fantastic team period. That’s the bar that we’ve set, and that’s what we’re looking forward to seeing as we move forward, especially on Friday night.”

He also hinted that Dixon has the ball skills as a thrower to give the team some opportunities for trickery this season.

Final thoughts

I feel like bringing Dixon back was a good move. I liked him as the punter back in 2016-17 when he first came into the league and was bummed he got dealt to the Giants. He should provide solid stability at punter and given how Kotwica has spoken about his ability to provide some potential for fake punts, then it could add an extra element of special teams that has been missing in recent years.