The New York Jets lost the Buffalo game week one last season because they didn’t have a kicker. The old regime let our then pro bowl kicker JASON Myers hit the market. Sam Ficken became the fixture at the kicker spot this season, but he likely won’t be back. The Jets have a few options to solve the kicking question and here are a few of them.
Brett Maher
Maher was signed to a Reserve/Futures Contract, in December. The veteran was the Cowboys kicker for the past 2 seasons. Maher hit 29/36 of his kicks in 2018 and 20/30 last season. Maher wasn’t what the Cowboys wanted and ended up a free agent. Maher has potential and is very accurate from deep. Maher lacks consistency and is coming off an average season. If Maher regains his form in the preseason then the job is his. If not, the Jets will look to one of these other options.
Free Agency
The New York Jets could look to free agency for a number of options at kicker. The Patriots recently released Stephen Gostowski. He has a storied resume but he is getting older. After 14 seasons with the Patriots, he had a career 87.4% kicking percentage. Gostowski wouldn’t be a long term answer and seems to be trending down. Greg Zuerlein is an option but he’s coming off a career-worst season. Kai Forbath and Nick Folk are cheap options who have been inconsistent. Adam Vinatieri is a legend who seems to be struggling to stay afloat. Dan Bailey and Kaimi Fairbrian we’re both great kickers who hit the market but were resigned by their teams quickly. The Jets could take a chance on a vet and hope they regain their form but that might not be the best way to go.
The Draft
This year’s kicking class is actually pretty talented. Rodrigo Blankenship is the ELECTRIC kicker from Georgia who won a handful of awards in his college career. He’s been perfect with extra points in his career and nailed over 80% of his kicks every year since his freshman year when he nailed 77.7%. Blankenship is the most high profile kicking prospect but a couple of other guys who are very talented are Tyler Bass, Bailey Hale, Dominik Eberle, JJ Moison and Cooper Rothe. All of them provide a major upside and would be more favorable options than a veteran.