The New York Jets have sorted through the scrap heap over the years to solve their kicking woes.
They’ve had nine different kickers since 2017:
- Chandler Catanzaro
- Jason Myers
- Kaare Vedvik
- Sam Ficken
- Sergio Castillo
- Chase McLaughlin
- Matt Ammendola
- Alex Kessman
- Eddy Pineiro
The nine #Jets kickers since 2017:
(Catanzaro, Myers, Vedvik, Ficken, Castillo, McLaughlin, Ammendola, Kessman, Pineiro)
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The one commonality among them is how they came to the Jets. Each kicker wasn’t wanted: undrafted free agents and waiver-wire pickups.
It’s time for the Jets to change up the plan of attack and go pay for a good one for once.
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A Permanent Solution
NFL analyst David Wyatt-Hupton in The Jet Way newsletter explained why he would sign Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo this offseason.
“Koo is a career 89.4% kicker and is at 91.3% this season. He’s got a strong leg which is evidenced by his 11 made field goals on 12 attempts over 50 yards. He’s also hit 100% of his extra points this year.”
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
The Jets have consistently undervalued the kicker position and have tried to get by with lesser pieces. Wyatt-Hupton argued it is time to change up the plan, “just sign a good one and move on.”
He suggested that a four-year deal for $18 million would get it done with $8 million guaranteed.
The top 12 kickers in the NFL make at least $4 million per season, which means if the Jets want a proven commodity they’re going to have to cough up some serious dough.
Do They Need to Do It?
If you would’ve asked this question a few weeks ago this would’ve been obvious, of course.
Although since then, they may have found the answer to their problem in Pineiro.
He has been perfect since joining the green and white going 4-for-4 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points.
The 26-year-old is super young and is on a cheap deal through the rest of 2021 with a base salary of $780,000, per Over The Cap.
Although he has an incredibly limited sample size, with only 18 career games under his belt.
On the other side of the coin, Koo is in the midst of his fourth professional season and has been a rockstar:
- 84-of-94 for his career (89.4 percent conversion rate)
- 82-of-86 on extra points (95.3 percent conversion rate)
He is also young (27 years of age) and has proven to be not only really talented but really consistent which should be of the utmost importance to the green and white.
In their history, they have rarely paid the proper price required to bring in a big-time money-free agent kicker. They had their chance with Myers after his special 2018 season, but they let the Seattle Seahawks throw the bag at him.
The Jets have proven they aren’t a talented enough team to completely lose every game in the special teams’ department and still find a way to pull out a win consistently.
They need an upgrade at kicker and that is exactly what Koo could provide the Jets for many years to come.
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