The NFL Draft is right around the corner and we conclude our position rankings series with a look at specialist positions, kickers and punters. There aren’t usually that many kickers or punters drafted each year, so instead of ranking them, I’m going to review a few players that I think could be drafted. It’s easy to forget how many specialist players are taken in the draft each year, but history shows that a few usually go out.
In the last 10 years, 18 kickers have been drafted. 2015 was the only time a kicker wasn’t drafted during this period. The top two kickers assigned since 2014 have been Roberto Aguayo, who was selected in the second round, 28th overall (59th overall) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jake Moody was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round, 36th overall (99th overall), in the 2016 draft and the 2023 draft. The average overall draft pick for kickers since 2014 has been 174th overall, at the end of the fifth round.
Surprisingly, more punters have been drafted than kickers over the past decade, with 21 punters drafted since 2014. 2017 is the only year in this period where no punter was named. This is the first draft since 2014 in which three punters were selected in the fourth round. Jordan Stout (Ravens) and Jake Camarda (Buccaneers) in 2022, and Mitch Wishnowski (49ers) in 2019. The average overall draft pick for punters since 2014 has been 191st, a mid-sixth round pick.
Punter – Torrie Taylor (Iowa State)
Taylor broke the punting record during his college career with the Hawkeyes. He set an NCAA record with 4,479 total punting yards. Taylor was a three-time All-American, and in his final season was unanimously named the nation’s Most Valuable Player and won the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s best punter. He also holds the Big Ten Conference record with a career average of 46.3 yards per punt. Taylor has 40 punts of 50 yards or more in his career and 32 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. He did all of this in Iowa’s harsh weather conditions, so the weather isn’t really a factor for him. Taylor has a chance to become the most drafted punter in the past decade, and while he may not be able to go in the third round, it’s not out of the question and should be taken down in the fourth round.
Kicker – Joshua Carty (Stanford)
Carty had a solid performance in his final two seasons at Stanford, shooting 91.1 percent from the field through his junior and senior seasons. He has made eight field goals of 50 yards or more in his career, and his longest field goal was 61 yards (2022). Carty has important legs that allow him to make field goals in the mid-50 yard range. His kickoff power is impressive and he can drive deep into the end zone. Carty has the potential to be a solid kicker in the NFL for a long time, and I project him to be drafted around the fifth round.
Kicker – Cam Little (Arkansas)
Little made 53-of-64 (82.8%) field goals during his career. His career long was 56 yards, and he showed solid accuracy going 7-of-11 (63.6%) for 50 yards or more over his career. He could hardly use his consistency from 40 to 49 yards, making just 12-of-17 (70.6%) in his career and ranking near the bottom in the NFL last season. It would have been. In 2023, he allowed just eight kickoff returns. Few will hear his name called before the 2024 draft is over.
Kicker – Will Reichard (Alabama)
Reichard is an experienced kicker who has kicked in big games for the past five seasons at the University of Alabama. He made 87% of his field goals during his career, and his career field goals were 52 yards. He was great from inside 40 yards, hitting 94.2% for his career from that distance. Although his leg strength is not as strong as other kickers on this list, his accuracy and experience should give him a chance to compete for a starting spot in the NFL.
