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NFL draft preview: Kicker who kept Michigan Panthers' Jake Bates on bench tops draft class
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- NFL draft preview: Kicker who kept Michigan Panthers' Jake Bates on bench tops draft class
Free Press sports reporter Dave Birkett takes a position-by-position look at the top prospects and biggest Detroit Lions needs in the 2023 NFL draft. This is the first in an eight-part series:
Before he was a record-setting kicker for the Michigan Panthers , Jake Bates was a kickoff specialist for one season at the University of Arkansas.
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And one of the reasons Bates never got a chance to attempt a field goal with the Razorbacks was because of the presence of Cam Little , the No. 1 kicker in this year's NFL draft.
Little made 53 of 64 field goals in three seasons at Arkansas with a long of 56 yards. He was a perfect 129 of 129 on extra points in his career. And he's generated enough buzz in what's considered a solid kicking class that he could hear his name called in the first four rounds.
Sep 3, 2022; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks kicker Cam Little (29) kicks an extra point in the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Historically, teams have avoided taking kickers high in the draft, though the San Francisco 49ers ( Jake Moody ) and New England Patriots ( Chad Ryland ) spent third- and fourth-round picks, respectively, on kickers last spring.
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Moody, the 99th pick out of Michigan , and Ryland, No. 112 out of Maryland ( he started his college career at Eastern Michigan ), were the two highest-drafted kickers since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Roberto Aguayo with the 59th pick of the 2016 draft.
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Mike Nugent (in 2005) and Nate Kaeding (in 2004) are the only other kickers to go in the first 115 picks in the past 20 years.
The Lions have been looking for a permanent solution to their kicking woes since they let Matt Prater walk in free agency in 2021, but under general manager Brad Holmes have shown little interest in spending draft capital on the position.
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The Lions re-signed Michael Badgley in free agency this offseason, but plan to add at least one and maybe two kickers as competition this spring. They've indicated at least one of those players will be a young veteran type, like Bates — who is not eligible to sign until the United Football League season is over — or Parker Romo, who was with the team last summer and signed with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason.
Detroit Lions place kicker Michael Badgley (17) attempts a field goal against Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half of the NFC divisional round at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024.
"Badgley, he's done a nice job. He's been clutch," Holmes told WXYT-FM (97.1) before the combine. "Throughout his career, he's done what we've needed to do, so he's been good. Now, with all positions, there'll be competition and Badgley understands that. He knows there'll be competition."
Badgley made 20 of 24 field goals with the Lions in 2022, then spent most of last season on practice squad before taking over for Riley Patterson in December. He made all four of his field goal tries and 13 of 15 extra points in the regular season, and was 3 for 3 with a long of 54 yards in the playoffs.
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Badgley's 54-yarder midway through the third quarter proved to be the deciding points in the Lions' wild-card win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Lions coach Dan Campbell passed on two long field goal attempts and the Lions failed to convert both times on fourth-and-short in the team's NFC championship game loss to the 49ers , when Moody, a Michigan native, made the go-ahead 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of a 34-31 San Francisco victory. Campbell has long favored keeping his offense on the field in those situations, and he's said multiple times he does not regret those decisions.
Still, there is reason to think the Lions could place more of a premium on the kicker position after coming within a whisker of reaching the Super Bowl, and with new NFL rules for kickoffs.
Michigan place kicker James Turner attempts a field goal against Washington during the first half of the national championship game at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024.
Holmes told the Free Press at the NFL's annual meeting last month that the league's new rules will cause teams to consider carrying three kickers this fall (with two perhaps on practice squad). Kickers may be more involved in tackling under the new kickoff rules, which place the cover team at the 40-yard line and most of the return team at the 35-yard line, with neither unit allowed to move until the ball is fielded or hits the ground.
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Just 18 kickers have been taken in the past 10 drafts. Along with Little, Alabama's Will Reichard , Stanford's Joshua Karty and Missouri's Harrison Mevis could interest teams in the draft this year.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @davebirkett.
NFL draft preview: Specialists
On the roster: P Jack Fox, K Michael Badgley , LS Scott Daly .
Top 3 K prospects: 1. Cam Little, Arkansas; 2. Joshua Karty, Stanford; 3. Will Reichard, Alabama. Top 3 P prospects: 1. Tory Taylor , Iowa; 2. Ryan Rehkow , BYU; 3. Matt Hayball, Vanderbilt.
Other players with Michigan ties: K James Turner, Michigan; P Jake Walrath, Central Michigan.
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Recent Lions draft picks at K/P/LS: None in the past five years.
Feeling a draft?
What: 2024 NFL draft.
Where: Detroit.
The schedule: Round 1 — 8 p.m. April 25; Rounds 2-3 — 7 p.m. April 26; Rounds 4-7 — Noon.
TV: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network.
Lions' picks (with overall pick in parentheses): Round 1 — No. 29 (29); Round 2 — No. 29 (61); Round 3 — No. 9 (73), No. 29 (92); Round 5 — No. 29 (163); Round 6 — No. 29 (207); Round 7 — No. 29 (247).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: NFL draft preview: Will Detroit Lions finally draft a kicker?
