Phil Dawson, arguably the greatest kicker in Browns history, has strong feelings about why kickers deserve more respect in the draft. (Associated Press)
Why NFL teams shy from drafting kickers and why that may be changing
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
INDIANAPOLIS
This whole story is about kickers – why NFL teams shy from drafting them and why that may be changing.
“I’m glad you’re writing something on this,” said former Browns kicker Phil Dawson.
Dawson is biased, of course. He was so sure he would be drafted in 1998 out of the University of Texas that he staged a big draft party with friends and relatives. How many kickers do that?
The draft call never came. Severely disappointed, Dawson bounced from the Oakland Raiders training camp to the New England Patriots practice squad. The next season, he found a home with the NFL’s 31st team – the expansion Browns in 1999.
And over the next 14 years, he became the franchise’s all-time field goal kicker, its second-leading scorer to Hall of Famer Lou Groza, and its only player to receive the franchise tag. He returned in 2019 to sign a one-day contract and formally retire as a Cleveland Brown.
In the nine years since Dawson left the Browns in free agency, they’ve burned through 10 kickers, including the same one on two occasions. Not a single one lasted for two complete seasons in a row.
“I can’t believe that,” Dawson said.
The Browns came to the NFL Combine with several priorities. Doing their diligent research on the eight college kickers invited is among them.
After the Cincinnati Bengals rode the leg of rookie kicker Evan McPherson to the Super Bowl, the taboo of using a draft pick – regarded by NFL GMs and coaches as a precious gemstone – on a kicker may finally be lifted.
“For the most part, kickers haven’t been drafted,” said Ozzie Newsome, the Baltimore Ravens GM-turned-executive vice president. “We normally stick with what historical data tells us. But there has been a change because the importance of kickers right now and having a great kicker. How many games go down to the last kick? So the importance of the kicker has increased. So now you have to treat it like any other position.”
Dawson scoffed, “I would hope so. I mean, you’re looking at obviously very successful teams playing late in the year. Kansas City, renowned for their explosive offense, and they still needed their kicker to make these kicks. In the playoffs, everybody’s good. You better be able to put those points on the board when given the opportunity. I would hope, based off this year’s playoffs, teams would take notice. Even more importantly, I would hope they’d start putting people inside the building that can make their guy better.”
The mystery of kickers
Under Newsome’s direction, the Ravens have had one of the league’s best draft records for more than 20 years. In the 2012 draft, they didn’t use one of their eight picks on a kicker. But they signed Justin Tucker after the draft and he beat out Billy Cundiff, who was the AFC Pro Bowl kicker the year before, for a roster spot.
Tucker, who succeeded Dawson at Texas by several years, has become the greatest NFL kicker of his generation.
Two other kickers were taken in the 2012 draft and both are still active today – Randy Bullock, now with the Titans, and Greg Zeuerlein, now with the Cowboys. Counting that season’s draft, only 13 kickers have been selected in the last 10 years.
Dawson believes the reason is rooted in simple ignorance.
“Place-kicking is the most misunderstood aspect of the game of football,” Dawson said. “Most personnel people will tell you they know nothing about it -- the actual fundamentals required to be a good kicker. They’ll just tell you ‘I have no idea.’ And most special teams coaches will tell you the same thing. I can’t tell you how many I had through the years literally say, ‘Phil, I’m not going to mess with you. Just go do your own deal.’ Even early in my career before I was established.
“So where I’m going with this, if draft picks are precious, and peoples’ jobs are on the line, and the guy they advocate for doesn’t work out, then, obviously, if you don’t know what to look for fundamentally in evaluating whether a guy has the characteristics to be an effective kicker for your team, it’s just easier to let it pass and focus on the skillsets you are familiar with, and try to just get lucky and find one on the street.”
And yet, GMs rely exclusively on their special teams coaches to make decisions on kickers.
Jim Nagy, executive director of the Senior Bowl and a former scout with the Redskins, Patriots and Chiefs, said, “There has never been a general manager in the history of the National Football League that’s ever picked a specialist. That is strictly on the special teams coach in every building. There is no GM arrogant enough that will say he knows kickers better than the actual special teams coaches. If they’re convicted on a guy, you pick their guy.”
Because of the lack of expertise among special teams coaches, Dawson believes kickers are the most under-coached position in the NFL.
He said the only team in the NFL with a coach dedicated to place-kickers and punters is the Ravens. Randy Brown has been their kicking consultant for 14 years.
“I think there’s pretty good evidence this is a huge void elsewhere in the NFL and speaks to how many guys that have been [drafted] and haven’t worked out, or even free agent guys that haven’t worked out,” Dawson said. “Other than hoping it works out, what are you actually doing to facilitate a good outcome?”
Here’s another thing: Most position players taken in the fifth round or later – which is the usual range for the few kickers that are drafted – are granted extra time to develop. But not kickers. If they’re drafted and they make the final roster, there is no learning curve.
“There’s no patience with kickers,” Newsome said. “You have a chance to develop those other [position] players because you have other players at that position. The kicker, he has to go out on Sunday and either he makes it or he doesn’t. Nobody likes to lose games.”
In 2018, the Minnesota Vikings used a fifth-round pick on Daniel Carlson, who never missed a PAT in four years at Auburn and made 80.7 percent of his field goals in becoming the all-time scoring leader in Southeastern Conference history. Carlson made the Vikings final roster and was waived after his second NFL game when he missed one field goal in regulation and two in overtime in a 29-29 tie against the Packers. Mike Priefer was Vikings special teams coach.
“[Vikings head coach Mike] Zimmer said you’re out of here,” Dawson said, dismissively.
Now, in his fifth season with the Raiders, Carlson co-led the NFL in scoring with 150 points and was fourth in field goal accuracy (40 of 43, .930). Carlson’s 48-yard field into the Dawg Pound end zone as time ran out beat the Browns, 16-14, in Game 14 this year.
Patience isn’t a virtue with kickers
Dawson said he was lucky to survive his rookie season with the Browns.
“Fortunately for me, the Browns were an expansion team and that bought me a little extra time,” he said. “My first year wasn’t good at all [8 of 12 for 66.7 percent]. I just happened to make that Pittsburgh kick in Three Rivers [a frantic game-winner from 39 yards as the clock ran out] and I think that saved me. Before you know it, I’m in Year 3 in the NFL and that’s where things started popping for me. And that’s pretty similar for most mid-range to late draft picks. It takes them a while to figure it out.”
A drafted kicker is fortunate if he survives his first season, whether by his own doing or because the team is so out of the playoff picture that it rolls with his growing pains. If he does survive Year 1, a second season isn’t guaranteed.
The Browns drafted Zane Gonzalez in the seventh round in 2017. He was waived after missing two field goals and two PATs in his second game in 2018. The Browns drafted Austin Seibert in the fifth round in 2019. He was waived after missing one field goal in his second game in 2020.
McPherson was decent in the regular season. His .848 field goal percentage on 28 of 33 makes ranked 19th. He caught fire in the postseason and was 14 of 14 on field goals and 6 of 6 on extra points. McPherson accounted for 48 of the Bengals’ 92 points in the playoffs, culminating in a 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56.
So the Bengals went from worst in the AFC North (in 2020) to first and missed a Super Bowl title by three points.
Reflecting on the dramatic shift in power in the division he has known since his playing days, Newsome said, “I think we’re so competitive. It goes all the way back to the way the draft is set up. Bad teams can get good in a hurry. Look at Cincinnati. They had two of the top five picks in the [last two] drafts [quarterback Joe Burrow and receiver Ja’Marr Chase], and they hit on them.
“And they invested in a kicker.”
