ecormia

There is a lack of quality options in free agency for NFL kickers

By Erica Cormia
January 27, 2019

Most teams in the NFL will be facing a problem when trying to fill their roster spots with a kicker for the 2019 season, since there is a lack of quality options for NFL teams in the kicking free agency market. Thus, NFL teams must look at the draft to place kickers on their roster for the upcoming season.
Such teams as the Browns, Saints, Steelers, Bears, Bengals, 49ers, Seahawks, Jets, Jaguars, Patriots, Cardinals, Vikings, and Panthers could be looking to replace their kickers for the upcoming season. The Bears and the Steelers face a unique situation having signed kickers to rich contracts and having those kickers not meet expectations. The Bears lost a playoff game, because their kicker missed a last-minute field goal. Cody Parker had a field goal percentage of 76.6% for the year. This is not what the Bears had in mind when they signed him to a lucrative contract. The Steelers, on the other hand, did not make the playoffs this year and had given Boswell a four-year, $19.2MM extension with a $6MM roster bonus. Boswell finished with a 69.6% made field goal percentage for the 2018 season.
On the other hand, the Saints are in a precarious position because their kicker Will Lutz is an unrestricted free agent this year. Will Lutz is probably the best kicker currently in the NFL. His made field goal percentage stood at 93.3% for the 2018 season, while his salary was $540,000 this year. If the Saints can afford to sign Will Lutz this upcoming year, Lutz should expect a contract worth about four years at $22.2MM with an 8MM -10MM signing bonus.
So, what is the answer? The draft could be the answer for an NFL team needing kicker.
Candidates in this year’s NFL draft include Roldan Alcobendas (Eastern Washington), Cole Tracy (LSU), JJ Jerman (East Tennessee State), Clayton Hatfield (Texas Tech), Austin Siebert (Oklahoma) and Matthew Wright (Central Florida). Each of these kickers had over an 82% made field goal percentage for the 2018 collegiate football season.
Just ask Hue Jackson on the importance of a field goal kicker in the NFL.

First Name Last Name School Pos Height Weight Conference 2018 FGs 2018 FG% Career FGs Career FG% 2018 Long FG
Roldan Alcobendas E.Washington K 6' 180 Mountain West 15-15 100.0% 35-46 76.1% 47
Clayton Hatfield Texas Tech PK 5'10" 185 Big 12 17-19 89.5% 50-59 84.7% 48
Austin Seibert Oklahoma K/P 5'10" 207 Big 12 17-19 89.5% 63-79 79.7% 42
Cole Tracy LSU K 5'11" 190 N.E. 10 29-33 87.9% 97-117 82.9% 54
Cole Hedlund N. Texas K 5'10" 166 C - USA 19-22 86.4% 33-46 71.7% 52
Matthew Wright Central Florida K 5'11" 175 AAC 12-14 85.7% 55-71 77.5% 46
Nick Bruno Eastern Illinois K 6'1" 175 Ohio Valley 12-14 85.7% 43-59 72.9% ??
J.J. McGrath Grand Valley State K 6'2" 220 GLIAC 11-13 85.0% 13-16 81.2% 35
Matt Gay Utah K 6'0" 230 Pac-12 26-31 83.9% 56-65 86.2% 55
Chris Alleyne Columbia K/P 6'2" 195 Ivy 15-18 83.3% 15-18 83.3% 51
Austin Errthum Northern Iowa K 5'10" 181 Missouri Valley 24-29 82.8% 34-44 77.3% 46
JJ Jerman East Tenn St K 5'11" 175 Southern 19-23 82.6% 53-70 75.7% 47
Justin Thompson Kennesaw St K 5'9" 156 Big South 9-11 81.8% 40-53 75.5% 44
Josh Pollack Arizona PK 5'10" 184 Pac-12 13-16 81.3% 33-45 73.3% 46
Justin Yoon Notre Dame K 5'10" 198 Independent 17-21 81.0% 59-73 80.8% 48
Parker Shaunfield Southern Miss K 5'11" 170 USA 16-20 80.0% 47-59 79.7% 51
Chase McLaughlin Illinois K 5'11" 183 Big Ten 20-25 80.0% 44-59 74.6% 54
Spencer Evans Purdue K 6'0" 203 Big Ten 18-23 78.3% 26-35 74.3% 41
John Baron. II SDSU K/P 5'11" 190 MWC 17-22 77.3% 50-60 83.3% 54
Miguel Recinos Iowa K 6'1" 190 Ben Ten 17-22 77.3% 29-38 76.3% 49
Marc Orozco Grambling K 5'9" 170 SWAC 12-16 75.0% 55-70 78.6% 52
Jameson Vest Toledo K 5'9" 191 MAC 15-20 75.0% 72-96 75.0% 47
First Name Last Name School Pos Height Weight Conference 2018 FGs 2018 FG% Career FGs Career FG% 2018 Long FG
Emmit Carpenter Minnesota K 5'11" 198 Big Ten 17-23 73.9% 53-67 79.1% 53
Bryce Crawford SJSU K/P 6'3" 223 MWC 14-19 73.7% 45-56 80.4% 50
Nick Gasser Akron K/P 6' 175 MAC 16-22 72.7% 19-28 67.9% 49
Spenser ThompsonMeyers St. Norbert K 6'1" 216 Midwest 13-18 72.2% ?? ?? 50
Andrew Gantz Cincinnati K 5'9" 185 American 13-18 72.2% 52-68 76.5% 49
Alex Langer Central Missouri St K 5'9" 203 MIAA 10-14 71.4% 25-36 69.4% 37
Paul Graham Wayne State K 6'1" 178 GLIAC 7-10 70.0% 38-45 84.4% 36
Gavin Patterson S. Alabama K 5'7" 195 Sun Belt 9-13 69.2% 35-48 72.9% 50
Morgan Hagee Ball State K 5'10" 169 MAC 11-16 68.8% 51-72 70.8% 51
Nick Madonia Tenn Tech K 5'8" 185 Ohio Valley 15-22 68.2% 37-52 71.2% 54
Greg Huegel Clemson K 5'10" 195 ACC 10-15 66.7% 53-70 75.7% 49
Parker Davidson New Mexico St PK 5'11" 175 Independent 2-3 66.7% 27-39 69.2% 25
Alex Lucansky Stony Brook K 6'1" 205 CAA 4-6 66.7% 11-16 68.8% 37
Michael Armstrong Central Michigan K 5'9" 181 MAC 2-3 66.7% 10-16 62.5% 26
Jonas Schenderlein Concordia-St. Paul K 6'0" 181 NSIC 13-20 65.0% 42-61 68.8% 56
Perry Schmiedeler Washburn K/P 5'11" 170 MIAA 11-17 64.7% ?? ?? 49
Freeman Jones North Carolina K 6' 210 ACC 18-28 64.3% 27-42 64.3% 49
Miles Butler Kentucky K 5'9" 171 SEC 7-11 63.6% 11-15 73.3% 40
Nate Walker Tulsa PK 5'10" 172 AAC 10-16 62.5% ?? ?? 40
Casey Bednarski Mankato State K 6'0" 221 NSIC 5-8 62.5% 30-35 85.7% 39
Lorran Fonseca Nicholls St K 5'11" 185 Southland 16-26 61.5% 35-49 71.4% 56
Cam Pedersen N. Dakota St K 6'2" 197 Missouri Valley 8-13 61.5% 45-73 61.6% 47
First Name Last Name School Pos Height Weight Conference 2018 FGs 2018 FG% Career FGs Career FG% 2018 Long FG
Wyatt Bryan Colorado St K 6'1" 175 Mtn West 11-18 61.1% 53-72 73.6% 55
Evan Pantles UNLV K/P 5'10" 190 Mtn West 6-10 60.0% 36-46 78.3% 45
Sean Nuernberger Ohio State K 6'1" 220 Big Ten 3-5 60.0% 36-50 72.0% 30
Haden Hoggarth Boise St. K 6'0" 198 MWC 12-20 60.0% 33-49 67.3% 47
Rafael Gaglianone Wisconsin K 5'10" 246 Big Ten 10-17 58.8% 70-92 76.1% 42
Nicholas Litang SE MO St K 5'9" 190 Ohio Valley 5-9 55.6% 12-25 48.0% 38
Jason Filley UTEP K/P 6'0" 197 C - USA 7-13 53.8% 9-16 56.3% 50
Zak Kennedy Youngstown K 6' 165 Missouri Valley 8-15 53.3% 54-80 67.5% 45
Caden Novikoff Houston K 5'10" 190 AAC 1-2 50.0% 13-17 76.5% 45
Ryan Nuss Western KY K 5'7" 200 C-USA 3-7 42.9% 18-31 58.1% 35