GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers' Peter Bowden became a long snapper by chance. Bowden said he was helping snap for his cousin Ryan Sanborn.
Sanborn is a punter for the Atlanta Falcons. After working with scouts and coaches, Bowden became one of the best in the country.
“Freshman year of high school, he came up to me, he’s like, ‘I really need a snapper so I can get my film,’” said Bowden. “[We would] workout Sundays in San Diego and a bunch of NFL scouts were there… They’d always help me out and then just really grew from there and turned into this.”
Bowden was picked up by the Packers this year after going undrafted in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Bowden said that out of high school he had offers from Ivy League schools, but he chose to play for the Wisconsin Badgers. He said he fell in love with the summers, but he had to learn to love the winters.
“I took all my visits to Wisconsin in July, and said ‘it’s beautiful,’” said Bowden. “I think the thing that always got me about the winters is just like how long they are.”
Bowden said being a long snapper is not the flashiest position on the team, but there is a lot that goes into it. He said in practice, he works on his technique and being mentally tough.
“There’s a lot of like fine details people don’t usually see. Like especially in blocking, you’re like, ‘How do I like truly have like a perfect snap?’” said Bowden. “I think the biggest thing, is how do you train your mind to get out of your own way and just trust yourself as opposed to thinking, ‘I got to be perfect.’”
Bowden said the toughness adjustment for him was perfecting blocking. He said the reason is simple.
“Being able to block a dude, who’s probably a much better athlete than you,” said Bowden. “They asked me ‘On a scale of 1 to 10, how ready you to block Von Miller?’ It’s a different level, these guys are freaks.”
Bowden said he hopes to make an impact this season.