UDFA rookie Dominic Zvada is running away with the Giants’ kicker job

Giants UDFA rookie Dominic Zvada drilled all thirteen of his field-goal attempts at the Giants’ mandatory minicamp while Ben Sauls struggled to connect consistently. By the time the team broke for the summer, the undrafted rookie from Michigan had handled the competition the Giants spent months trying to settle.

For a franchise that has cycled through legs since Graham Gano’s body broke down, this is a meaningful turn. The job was supposed to be a question at training camp. Right now, it looks closer to being answered.

The Giants’ kicking job nobody else locked down

The Giants moved on from Gano after injuries and rotating fill-ins made the kicking game unreliable, then watched the veteran safety-net plan fall apart before camp. Jason Sanders came in as the experienced option, but once he was gone, the competition narrowed to Ben Sauls and Zvada, with no established name blocking the rookie.

Zvada’s perfect minicamp against Sauls’ 4-of-8 opening day changed the room quickly. Sauls had the head start as the holdover, but the rookie is carrying the momentum into camp.

The Michigan Résumé Backs the Spring

Zvada arrived with a leg that already drew attention in Ann Arbor. He hit 21 of 22 field goals in 2024, went a perfect 7-for-7 from 50-plus yards, and won Big Ten Kicker of the Year. His career-long sits at 56 yards, a mark he has matched more than once.

His final college year was less clean, and the table shows the dip the Giants are betting their coaching can iron out.

The 2025 accuracy slipped to roughly 68 percent on field goals, even as he stayed automatic on extra points at 40-for-40. The spring suggests the down year was noise rather than a trend, at least under controlled conditions.

Spring Reps Are Not September Pressure

A kicker who goes perfect in shorts and shells has not solved anything that counts, and the swirling December wind at MetLife Stadium has humbled stronger résumés than Zvada’s. The early signal still favors him. He is more accurate, has the bigger leg, and has converted the chances the Giants needed him to convert. For a special teams unit searching for an answer since Gano, an undrafted rookie outkicking the field is the best problem the Giants have had at the position in a while.

By Anthony Rivardo

Anthony Rivardo is the COO of Empire Sports Media and the host of Fireside Giants, a New York Giants ... More about Anthony Rivardo