Why AJ Cole remains one of the Raiders' most valuable weapons

Oct 29, 2026 at 10:24 AM

Raiders Columnist

AJ Cole was born to be a Raiders specialist.

Literally and figuratively.

Cole entered this world on Nov. 27, 1995, a day when football fans watched the Raiders play the defending AFC champion Chargers in a special teams extravaganza on Monday Night Football.

A total of six field goals were kicked that evening at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium, along with a combined eight punts, as Frank Gifford, Al Michaels and Dan Dierdorf called the action in the Raiders’ 12-6 loss.

Some 2,200 miles to the east in College Park, Georgia, a swaddled Cole was preparing for his close-up … kinda.

"Yeah, no, I remember watching that game from the hospital," Cole joked during an interview on the Raiders Podcast Network. "I thought it was pretty competitive, back and forth on special teams and…"

Cole paused, catching himself.

"Yeah," he said, "maybe that was the prophecy, I guess."

A pair of first-team All-Pro selections and three Pro Bowl nods later, prophecy has turned to reality as the latest Raiders great at punter has only solidified his status at the position among the likes of Hall of Famer Ray Guy, another All-Pro in Jeff Gossett and ascending Hall of Fame candidate Shane Lechler.

Cole's 51.1 yards per punt is tied for the second-highest average in the NFL this season, half a yard off the lead, and his 63.3-yard average in Week 1 against the Dolphins is the highest single-game mark by any punter since the 2024 Kickoff Weekend.

And, his career gross average of 48.6 yards is the best in NFL history.

"I've said it numerous times - he's a great worker," first-year Raiders special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis said of Cole. "He's a big-time punter in the league. He's a big-time leader for our team, in my opinion. Extremely really smart guy, and he gets football, too.

"He's not just a specialist; he's a guy that gets football. It's a real honor to coach him, and hopefully we can keep him going in the right direction."

Indeed, raring back and simply booming the air out of the ball, while it might be satisfying, is not necessarily the point for a punter, right? There's strategy involved, and that's why Cole has a gaggle of different punts.

And he pulls each one out of his bag for a very specific situation.

"There's punts that are good in certain parts of the field, there's punts that are bad in certain parts of the field," he said. "Basically, every punt you have, you could go either right or left with it, but really there's probably about three or four different punts you're using.

"So, I guess if you multiply that out by eight, it's not a full 14-club golf bag, but it's pretty significant."

Throw in some wind and/or cold, inclement weather for a guy who punts in a controlled environment such as Allegiant Stadium and things can get dicey on the road.

Cue Cole putting on his meteorologist cap and cardigan, and checking the East Rutherford, New Jersey, forecast for Sunday, when the Raiders are playing at the Jets.

"When you just drop in somewhere, it can be challenging because you don't have a lot of time in pregame [warm-ups], so you're trying to figure it out as quickly as possible: How many punts can I get in and [in] how many different parts of the field during pregame?" he said. "It's hard because there's like 150 people on the field, so you're trying not to skull anybody with a football and send someone to the hospital. But at the same time, too, you've got to find out what the wind's going to do."

A few things to keep an eye on Sunday, then:

With two punts downed inside the 20-yard line, Cole would tie Washington's Tress Way for the second-most such punts (203) since 2019.

And if Cole places one inside the 10–yard line at MetLife Stadium, it would be his 78th such career punt, tying for second-most in the NFL in that same time frame.

So what prompted Cole to pursue punting? What about the position and the uniqueness of special teams appealed to him?

"Too slow and unathletic to play anything else, I guess," he joked. "No, I kind of backdoored my way into it. I didn't really start punting until after my junior season [in high school], but it was something I feel like, once I started doing it, I found a tremendous love for it pretty quickly.

"I didn't grow up watching punters, thinking, 'That's what I'm going to do one day.' I didn't grow up thinking that was my path. I grew up thinking I wanted to play tight end and defensive end, and then the genetic lottery kind of ended up with what it was. But, yeah, it's something that once I started doing it, I took to it pretty quickly and I found a love for it and found a home."

One which he was born for.

Figuratively, and quite literally.

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Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) before practice at Intermountain Health Performance Center.