The former BYU star made NFL history in his first game with the Cincinnati Bengals then went on to have a Top 10 season among punters.

Washington Commanders v Cincinnati Bengals | Alika Jenner/GettyImages

Ryan Rehkow joined the Cincinnati Bengals in 2024 as a lowly undrafted rookie free agent. Despite starting at the bottom of the depth chart, the former BYU star let his leg do the talking and he rose up the ranks to become the Bengals Day 1 starting punter.

Based on the results of his fantastic rookie season, I hope BYU fans everywhere are ready to watch Rehkow boom punts in the NFL for the next 10-plus years.

2024 Statistical Summary

17 games

53 punts, 49.1 yards per punt, 43.3 net yards per punt

25 punts inside the 20 (47.2%)

Ryan Rehkow’s Season Overview

The former BYU special teams ace got his season off to a booming start, literally and figuratively, with some head-turning performances early on.

In Week 1 Rehkow set a Bengals team record with an incredible 80-yard punt that almost bounced out of bounds near the one yard line. In his first NFL game his gross average of 64.5 yards set an NFL single-game record for punters with at least four attempts. Not a bad way to start your career, rookie.

On the season, Rehkow’s 42.9 yard net average ranked sixth in the NFL. His 49.1 average yards per punt ranked ninth. On average, 47.2% of his kicks left teams with starting field position inside their own 20 yard line, a mark that ranked 10th in the NFL.

For his outstanding performance, PFF named the former BYU star to the 2024 PFF All-Rookie Team.

Ryan Rehkow the #HulaBowl Alumni makes history in Cinci with an 80 yard punt! Breaking the record for longest punt in #Bengals history! @DraftDiamonds are found at the #HulaBowl @r_rehkow24 pic.twitter.com/rBzCYy2J55

— Hula Bowl (@Hula_Bowl) September 8, 2024

Ryan Rehkow’s Next Steps

It was truly a breakout year for Rehkow, and one that could set him up for a long, successful NFL career. As with some BYU players, Ryan is older than most rookies at 26, but good punters can thrive in the NFL well into their thirties.

Now that he has a full NFL season under his belt with the benefits of professional coaching and training, Rehkow could be poised for a big 2025. Rookie seasons are always a learning experience and thus far he has passed the test. With some additional development this offseason, Ryan Rehkow could be pushing for Pro Bowl status sooner than later.

While the NFL world might be surprised by Rehkow’s emergence, those of us who watched him kick at BYU saw this coming. He was simply fantastic during his time in Provo. On a side note, I also write for a Carolina Panthers site and every year I write a post imploring Carolina’s front office to draft some BYU players. Last year I wrote the following, hoping the Carolina Panthers would heed my words, “I’m confident (Ryan Rehkow) will be a solid NFL punter for years to come. He has a huge leg and earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors in 2023.”

Ryan Rehkow rewarded that confidence and will be repping BYU in the NFL for years to come.