For so long, the NFL kicker has been a position of shame.
“Soft”, fans screamed, for being unable to take hits or go toe-to-toe on the line. “Skinny”, they harped, for looking like a bunch of Ted Mosby’s, unfit to don NFL pads. “Fake position”, they beckoned, as “real” football connoisseurs begged for the removal of their line of work. “Choke artists”, they harrowed, as critics glossed over their success and spotlighted their failures.
But a shameful position no more, 2024 is the year of the kicker in the NFL.
Amidst the whining about NFL defenses consistently running Cover-2 to turn QBs into check-down merchants, kickers have stepped up to the plate, taking advantage of the all-time low number of passing touchdowns.
Through the first two weeks of the season, there were more field goals (141) than touchdowns (136), something that’s never been close to happening throughout a full season. Week 1 saw the third-highest number of field goals in a single week in history (68). Week 2 set the record (73).
But it’s not just that there have been more field goals this year, it’s that, perhaps causally, kickers are hitting them at a record-setting clip. Through two weeks kickers combined to hit 35 of 39 kicks from 50 yards or longer. In 2006 there were only 40 field goals of 50+ yards all season.
Week 3 of the season brought things back down to earth, with kickers only hitting 33 field goals and going 7/16 from 50+ yards. But due to two weeks of otherworldly numbers, this season still paces to be one of the most lopsided in history towards the field goal.
So to give kickers the proper shine they deserve, here are the current rankings of kickers for all 32 teams in the NFL (all stats provided by ESPN, names within each tier are listed in no particular order):
Tier 1 – Washed: Justin Tucker (BAL), Graham Gano (NYG), Joey Slye (NE)
Justin Tucker has three misses already so far.
From 2019 to 2021, he never had more than three misses in an entire season. Usually, the friend in fantasy leagues who chooses a kicker before getting to his bench takes Justin Tucker, but those days are no more. Rather than an enigma, it seems he was just ahead of his time. Respect must be paid, however, as he owns the record for the longest field goal of all time at 66 yards, as a game-winner no less.
The Giants took Gano out of his Week 2 matchup due to a groin injury, and he also missed time last season with injury. The best ability is availability, and kickers have a short leash. Joey Slye has never been great and doesn’t have a kick over 44 yards this season yet, although he does have a 61-yarder.
Tier 2 – Young and Unproven: Will Reichard (MIN), Brayden Narveson (GB), Cam Little (JAX), Joshua Karty (LAR), Jake Bates (DET)
These kickers are all rookies in the league (Reichard, Little and Karty all drafted in the sixth round) and don’t have enough of a sample size to be accurately judged. The bar for success for them is now much higher than it was for past rookie kickers, however.
Reichard, Karty and Bates have yet to miss a kick, whereas Little and Narveson have one and two misses respectively.
Tier 3 – Settling In: Jake Moody (SF), Blake Grupe (NO), Cameron Dicker (LAC), Tyler Bass (BUF)
It had been 18 years since a kicker was drafted in the third round or higher when the 49ers took Jake Moody, and it’s panned out okay so far. Some will say it is never worth it to draft a kicker that high — Moody was 3/3 on field goals in the Super Bowl. However, one of his extra points was blocked in a game that went to overtime.
Grupe has the leg and Dicker has the accuracy, but neither has both to consider them for higher tiers at this moment. Bass has been with the Bills for a while now, but after his playoff miss last year, bringing up decades of foul memories, Bills Mafia has him on thin ice.
Tier 4 – Journeymen: Austin Seibert (WAS), Eddy Piniero (CAR), Matt Gay (IND), Dustin Hopkins (CLE), Chase McLaughlin (TB), Cairo Santos (CHI)
Franchises often struggle to allow kickers into their good graces and often see them as expendable.
There’s no bigger example of this than McLaughlin, who had kicked for eight different teams in five years before finally starting his second consecutive season with one team in Tampa Bay this year.
Austin Seibert won over the good graces of Washington fans by single-handedly winning them their game over the Giants in Week 2. Eddy Piniero is kicking at a great clip with an 89.5 FG%, finding a resurgence in Carolina. Matt Gay has a Super Bowl ring with the Rams, while Dustin Hopkins and Cairo Santos are trusted veterans who have now found a groove with their new teams.
Tier 5 – Still Kickin’: Matt Prater (ARI), Greg Zeurlein (NYJ), Nick Folk (TEN)
Prater has been kicking longer than many NFL fans have been alive, having entered the league back in 2004, and owns the third-longest field goal ever at 64 yards. Folk has been a steady hand since 2007, and Zeurlein bears the nickname “Greg the Leg”, a feat that alone makes him a kicking legend.
Tier 6 – Franchise Cornerstones: Daniel Carlson (LV), Younghoe Koo (ATL), Chris Boswell (PIT), Jason Sanders (MIA), Evan McPherson (CIN)
These kickers are staples of their special teams units.
McPherson came on strong as a rookie during the Bengals’ Super Bowl run and recently earned himself a new contract. Boswell and Sanders have never played for another team in their seven and ten-year respective careers. Carlson and Koo are fan favorites for both their accuracy and their charisma.
Tier 7 – 60-Yard Club: Harrison Butker (KC), Jake Elliott (PHI), Ka’imi Fairbairn (HOU), Will Lutz (DEN), Jason Myers (SEA)
The stalwarts of the NFL’s kicking game fall into this tier, and each of these kickers has hit a 60-yard field goal in their careers. Butker leads this tier because of his pedigree in the playoffs, followed by Jake Elliott who has been the Eagles’ sharpshooter for eight years now.
Fairbairn is one of the most slept-on kickers in the league, boasting a 94 FG% over the past three seasons. Lutz and Myers both are steady forces for the Seahawks and the Broncos and sneak into this tier with 60- and 61-yarders respectively.
*Justin Tucker, Matt Prater, Joey Slye and Greg Joseph (NYG) have all also hit 60-yard field goals, but align more into other tiers due to age or inability to produce consistently*
Tier 8 – 70-Yard Club: Brandon Aubrey (DAL)
Aubrey is leading the charge in pushing the boundaries of NFL kicking.
He hit a 65-yarder in Week 3 against the Ravens, plus a 66-yard field goal in the preseason, both with a handful of yards to spare. The Cowboys teased viewers by having Aubrey line up for a 71-yarder in their first game against the Browns before pulling him back out.
It’s only a matter of time before Aubrey gets an opportunity to break Tucker’s record, he just needs to execute when the opportunity calls.
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