EAGAN, Minn. – Minnesota's special teams had a new look in 2019.
The season marked the first under coordinator Marwan Maalouf, whom the Vikings hired last spring, and the addition of rookie long snapper Austin Cutting and veteran punter Britton Colquitt.
Minnesota used its final draft pick to select Cutting out of the Air Force Academy and during the preseason released the incumbent Kevin McDermott.
The Vikings inked Colquitt on Sept. 1 after releasing Matt Wile.
The addition of the 10th-year specialist proved to be a sneaky good signing. Colquitt was the NFL's only qualifying punter (more than 27 attempts) to not record a single touchback during the 2019 season. His Pro Football Focus punt grade of 74.1 ranked fourth in the league.
View the top photos of Vikings K Dan Bailey from the 2019 season.
Here are five other numbers of note regarding the Vikings 2019 special teams:
93.1 – Dan Bailey's 93.1 field goal percentage was the NFL's fourth-best behind Jacksonville's Josh Lambo (97.1), Baltimore's Justin Tucker (96.6) and Pittsburgh's Chris Boswell (93.5). Bailey made 27-of-29 field goal attempts, including going 3-for-3 from 50-plus yards.
11 – Rookie cornerback Kris Boyd led the Vikings in special teams tackles with 11, followed by Ameer Abdullah, Kentrell Brothers and Eric Wilson, who notched seven apiece.
66 – Bailey's 66 touchbacks tied for third-most in the league. According to PFF, Bailey's kickoff grade jumped from 53.3 (30th in the NFL in 2018 to 90.1, which ranked third in the league.
1 – The Vikings blocked one punt in 2019, marking the first time Minnesota did so since 2014. Wilson leapt into action with a big play against Falcons punter Matt Bosher, who has had nine career punts blocked since 2011. Wilson's block was one of 11 across the NFL in 2019.
42.6 – Colquitt averaged 42.6 net yards per punt in 2019 to set a new Vikings single-season record.
