Drift to the bottom of the statistics for NFL kickers. The names near the bottom of the list feel wrong, as if someone toggled incorrectly.
Among 32 qualified kickers (minimum 10 field goal attempts), here’s a selection of names ranking Nos. 26 through 31 among league leaders in field goal percentage, via TruMedia:
- No. 26: Jake Elliott, Philadelphia Eagles — 73.7 percent
- No. 27: Younghoe Koo, Atlanta Falcons — 73.1 percent
- No. 28: Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens — 72.7 percent
- No. 29: Evan McPherson, Cincinnati Bengals — 71.4 percent
- No. 31: Dustin Hopkins, Cleveland Browns — 70.0 percent
Seeing this group might induce the same look Tucker made when he missed the first extra-point attempt of his career against the New Orleans Saints in the 2018 season.
Justin Tucker can’t believe Justin Tucker missed a potential game-tying XP pic.twitter.com/1wuX1W9vql
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 21, 2018
This season, the league average with one game left in Week 11 stands at 85.0 percent. The 2024 league average is on par with the final results of the last few seasons, so it’s not as if there’s a dip throughout the league. It’s more about the typically “automatic” kickers in recent memory becoming less “automatic.”
For perspective, here’s where those five kickers ranked before this season in career kicking percentage since 2000 (minimum 80 attempts, 85 qualified kickers):
- No. 1: Tucker — 90.2 percent
- No. 4: Koo — 88.5 percent
- No. 14: Elliott — 86.2 percent
- No. 18: Hopkins — 85.8 percent
- No. 36: McPherson — 83.9 percent
Tucker stands as the most eye-popping surprise given he’s built a Pro Football Hall of Fame résumé. He missed two field goals in the Ravens’ two-point loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11. He’s missed six kicks and one extra-point attempt this season.
“You’re going to have ups, you’re going to have downs, and trying to chase as many ups as possible is what we’re all after,” Tucker said. “Ultimately, none of us are happy if we don’t win it all in the end; only one team gets to do that.
“But part of the challenge that every player, every coach, every team faces is remaining confident, and the way that I know we remain confident — (and) I’m still confident I’m going to go out there and nail every single kick. I might sound like a broken record, but it’s a part of what brings us success … is just trusting the process and then taking it one kick at a time.”
One of the more head-scratching statistics within the overall percentages might be the lack of consistency within this group on kicks between 40 and 49 yards.
Koo ranks 28th from 40-49 with a 57.1 percent rate (4-of-7). He’s more accurate on kicks from 50-plus yards at 66.7 percent (6-of-9).
McPherson ranks tied for 26th from that range at 60.0 percent (3-of-5), but he’s also near the bottom with Tucker in field goals from 50-plus yards, each ranking 27th with a 42.9 percent rate (both 3-of-7).
Elliott has yet to successfully connect on a kick from 50-plus yards in 2024 missing all four attempts.
Hopkins officially missed only two kicks in Cleveland’s loss to the Saints in Week 11. But in reality, he missed two tries from inside 35 yards. First, Hopkins missed a 32-yard attempt with 14 seconds left in the first half, but a defensive holding penalty wiped the miss off the board. Eleven seconds later, Hopkins missed a 27-yarder epitomizing the Browns’ outcome Sunday.
Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase didn’t mince words when asked about McPherson’s two missed fourth-quarter field goals in the team’s seven-point loss against the Los Angeles Chargers: “He knows to make those kicks. That’s why we paid him those bucks. To make those kicks in crunch time.”
As Chase alluded to, it’s not as if McPherson and the more established kickers are making peanuts. Here’s where the kickers stand in average salary within their position groups, via Over The Cap:
- No. 2 (tied): Tucker, Elliott — $6 million
- No. 6 (tied): McPherson — $5.3 million
- No. 8 (tied): Hopkins — $5.3 million
- No. 13: Koo — $4.85 million
Meanwhile, Jake Bates (Detroit Lions) and Blake Grupe (New Orleans Saints) rank first and third, respectively, in field goal percentage this season and carry a combined average salary of less than $2 million per season.
(Photo: Justin K. Aller / Getty Images)
