The NFL Draft position breakdown you need most (trust us): Kickers

Sure, they might not play the flashiest position and they’re not on the field all that much. And yes, they don’t block or tackle. Well… sometimes they do. Still, the kicker is a wildly important position. So don’t be surprised when a few prospects hear their names called on draft night.

We won’t have a Sebastian Janikowski-like situation where a kicker goes in the first round. We probably won’t get a second rounder like Roberto Aguayo (that didn’t turn out too well, did it?).

Expect some kickers to be taken in the later rounds on Friday or Saturday. Not every guy mentioned in this slideshow will hear their number. But all could get a call to camp.

Here are the top kickers in this year’s class.

Borregales could be the first kicker to come off the board. The 2020 Lou Groza Award winner, given to the best college kicker in the nation, was automatic from under 40 yards, literally. The grad transfer out of the U hit 100 percent of those field goals. But he’ll play with the big boys soon, how’d he do from 40 plus? 9 for 11, including going 2 for 2 from over 50. Alright. Not too shabby.

If there’s any kicker who can be taken above Borregales, it’s Evan McPherson. The Florida Gator and junior standout has a massive leg and leaves Gainesville leading the SEC in career field goal percentage (85 percent). While he didn’t have as good a percentage this year (77.3) as Borregales, the dude can boot the ball. His career long is 55 yards. That’ll get NFL teams to look.

Patterson and the rest of these kickers may not make an appearance on draft day one (some may not at all), but they should get a look from other ball clubs in training camp. The Memphis kicker’s FG percentage dropped from 92 percent his junior year to 68.2 percent his senior year. But in 2020, he also kicked his career long — 56 yards. Ka-boom.

If you’re looking for consistency, maybe Blake Haubeil is your guy. The kicker out of The Ohio State University has never missed an extra point in his collegiate career. He’s the only one on this list to do so. Granted, the NFL extra points are further back, but Haubeil’s stat is still pretty damn impressive.

He may not have the highest FG percentage of the group but Kessman can hit a three from deep. The kicker set a Heinz Field record for longest field goal at the stadium (55 yards). Yes, that Heinz Field where the Pittsburgh Steelers play. The college kid beat NFL kickers who are actually paid for their abilities.

But 55 yards is not even his career long — it’s 58. As a reminder, the NFL’s longest field goal is 64 yards.

Nordin kicked the longest FG in Wolverine history at 57 yards. And he was pretty reliable throughout his tenure… until last year when he went two for five on field goals. But COVIDball was weird. Can NFL teams look past the year everyone would like to forget?