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Um, ok, well
New Bucs kicker Matt Gay is, at No. 145, the highest drafted kicker since Bucs took Roberto Aguayo in 2016. Only other kicker drafted higher in last 12 years was Alex Henery (120th) in 2011.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) April 27, 2019
Clearly, the Bucs continue to look for a long term solution to the kicking position. Cairo Santos isn’t bad, but he doesn’t exactly have a strong leg. That’s where Utah kicker Matt Gay steps in.
Gay is a former soccer player at Utah Valley and only kicked for two years at Utah. But he won the Lou Groza award for the nation’s best kicker in 2017, and was a finalist for the award in 2018. He made 84 percent of his field goals, including 21 straight at one point. He also handed kickoffs. Last season he was 16/16 on kicks from 40 yards, and 10/15 on kicks 50+ yards. Three of his five misses were because they were blocked. That’s a little concerning, as it may indicate that one of the reasons he makes long kicks is because he kicks with a low trajectory. In the NFL where the athletes are the top one percent of all football players, will he be able to get the ball up and over? Still, even with the blocks that means he’s pretty accurate and ten makes from 50+ is impressive. He’ll compete with Santos. Maybe one of these days the Bucs will finally find a longterm kicker.