Random Bengals fan thought on McPherson - I think having the rookie punter
as holder may be a hidden reason why they have been less inclined to turn to him in spots that they have the last couple of years.
-QG
This got me thinking. Yes, a punter punts, but typically his other duty is holder for kicks. If you don't have complete faith in your punter being able to do this duty, why not roster a player whose sole purpose is to hold for kicks? I know it sounds insane, but a long snapper typically only snaps for kicks and punts, right? Using your Cincinnati Bengals, their long snapper is 3 year veteran Cal Aldomitis. He has played exactly 356 snaps in his career, and all were on special teams. He doesn't come in when Burrow is in the shotgun.
One problem with that is you'd lose depth and stress another position group, all for a guy that would play - league average - 2 snaps per week.
Punters by definition need to have good hands. If the LS is good at his job, he has mastered 1) velocity, 2) placement, and 3) rotation. The Lions have a 1st year K and a UDFA rookie LS. On 43 kicking attempts, Hogan Hatten has delivered the ball on time with the laces facing the correct way 42 times (which was not the lone miss....Bates simply mishit one PAT and it squirted wide right.)
The P, LS, and K are able to spend 1-2 hours, 3x per week, working together on an adjacent field or on the other end of the field. When the holder is the punter, they don't have to wait for the backup whatever to finish positional reps. There is already enough specialisation to allow them to hone their craft.