The Green Bay Packers have started six placekickers over the past five years, but the team has yet to find a suitable replacement for the longterm leg of Mason Crosby. And despite spending a Day 3 pick in this year’s NFL draft to address the need, it is uncertain if the franchise has gotten any closer to achieving that ever-elusive goal.
Green Bay drafted kicker Trey Smack out of Florida with the No. 216 overall pick in Round 6 back in April, presumably to step in as the starter at the vital special teams position as a rookie in 2026. However, Smack is not exactly making a name for himself during his first offseason with the team — at least not in the way that he or the Packers would prefer.
“It’s obviously too soon to panic, but the early returns were not encouraging,” reported Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated, who has attended Green Bay’s offseason workouts through mid-June. “Smack made 20-of-27 attempts [this offseason], or 74.1 percent. That’s not good enough. For context, of the 30 kickers who attempted at least 20 field goals last season, only one kicker had a lower success rate.”
Smack’s mistakes have included a couple of misses from 35 yards and in, as well as a stretch in which he went 5-of-9 on deeper kicks in windy weather — the type that is typical in outdoor games at Lambeau Field and Soldier Field in Chicago — including two boots that were well wide of the mark, according to Huber.
Poor Kicking Has Arguably Cost Packers 3 Playoff Wins in Past 5 Years
GettyGreen Bay Packers kicker Trey Smack.
Any Packers fans who suffer special teams-related post traumatic stress disorder from Green Bay’s struggles in that area over the past five years, particularly in the postseason, have probably come by it honestly.
One can easily argue that the team has lost three playoff games in the past five postseasons due to placekicking woes.
Crosby missed a field goal in a 13-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. Anders Carlson, another draft pick of the Packers (No. 207 overall in Round 6 back in 2023), sent up an errant field goal try in a 24-21 loss to the 49ers in 2023. And finally, Brandon McManus failed to convert two field goals as well as an extra point in a four-point loss to the Chicago Bears in January.
Trey Smack Was Reliable Kicker at Florida, Particularly From Beyond 50 Yards
GettyGreen Bay Packers kicker Trey Smack.
Green Bay drafted Smack to replace McManus, who lost his job following his disastrous performance in Chicago over Wildcard Weekend. Neither McManus or Carlson are currently on an NFL roster. Crosby has been retired since the end of the 2023 campaign.
Smack connected on 100-of-101 extra points while at Florida. He also made 53-of-64 field goal attempts across a three-year run as the Gators’ starting kicker, which included 44 appearances.
“[Brian] Gutekunst traded both of [the Packers’] seventh-round picks to move up into the sixth round to pick the first kicker taken in the draft,” ESPN’s Rob Demovsky wrote in April. “Smack had a career-long field goal of 56 yards and went 10-of-13 on kicks of 50 or more yards in college.”
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