Alexander Wilson
The New York Giants do not need kicker drama in May, but here we are. Nobody wins the job during OTAs, and nobody should panic over spring practice misses, but this team has been burned enough times to take the position seriously.
The Giants used five different place-kickers last season, which tells you everything about how unstable the spot became. Kicker sounds boring until two points disappear, the sideline gets tight, and a game that should have been manageable turns into a headache.
The Jason Sanders, Ben Sauls, and Dominic Zvada competition is worth watching now instead of waiting for the first ugly Sunday.
The early signs are not exactly clean
Sanders should be the safest option on paper because of his experience, but the Giants cannot ignore the context. He is coming off a season-ending hip issue, and during the open OTA practice, he missed two field-goal attempts from 50-plus yards.
Sauls did not exactly slam the door either. He pulled two longer-distance attempts badly to the right during the same practice, which keeps the competition wide open even after he steadied the room late last season.
Zvada did not kick in that open OTA window, but he was perfect on five attempts at rookie minicamp, including one from 55 yards. An undrafted rookie keeps himself in the conversation with that kind of clean first impression, no press conference required.
The Giants cannot afford another mess here
Sauls deserves credit for what he did late last year, going 8-for-8 on field goals and 7-for-7 on extra points over his three-game run. That earned him a real shot, plain and simple.
Sanders brings the better resume, but the Giants already lived through the danger of trusting an injured veteran kicker because it feels comfortable. Graham Gano’s availability became a recurring problem, and the team finally moved on for a reason.
Zvada is the fun swing because the leg is real. He hit 21 of 22 field goals at Michigan in 2025, has the power to change late-half math, and gives the Giants a clean-slate option if the veterans wobble.
The whole thing comes down to trust. John Harbaugh is trying to build a more physical, disciplined football team, and that identity gets undercut quickly if special teams keeps handing away margins.
Maybe Sanders settles in and the misses fade into spring noise. Maybe Sauls carries last year’s finish into camp. Maybe Zvada forces the Giants to keep the rookie leg. For now, the warning light is already blinking, and the Giants should treat that as useful information instead of an annoyance.
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