Why It Wouldn't Be Surprising to See the Dolphins Draft a Kicker

Jason Sanders is coming off an impressive 2024 season, but there are factors are play to suggest a replacement could be on the way

Miami Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders (7) nails a field goal against the Tennessee Titans during the second quarter at Hard Rock Stadium last season. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

In the NFL, personnel departments have some difficult decisions to make come April. Sometimes, the need for a particular decision is glaring and sometimes it frankly just doesn’t seem so dire.

Welcome to the 2025 NFL draft discussion regarding kicker Jason Sanders.

Few fans are sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to see what the Miami Dolphins are going to do at the kicker position. More may even be wondering why such a discussion would even be entertained given Sanders’ success with the Dolphins.

A SPECIAL TEAMS STALWART

While many complaints have been lodged about Miami’s special teams the last few years, rarely has that discussion involved the play of Sanders.

A seventh-round selection out of the University of New Mexico in 2018, Sanders merely owns the franchise record in percentage field goals made (min. 50), connecting at an 84.7 percent clip over his seven seasons. He was named first-team All-Pro in 2020 and last season he was among the league’s best, connecting on 37 of 41 field goals (90.2%, 11th NFL), including a stellar 12-of-14 mark on kicks beyond 50 yards. He was 26-of-28 on PATs.

In the kick coverage department — which is more a measure of the special teams unit itself — Sanders was 31st in kickoff return percentage (22.1%), 37th in yards per return (22.6%) and 24th in average opponent field position (29.9 yard line). So it could be stated with fairness that there is work to be done in that department, but it’s certainly not a release-worthy stat line.

WHY THE DOLPHINS MAY CONSIDER MOVING ON

While Sanders’ play may not be considered among the league’s list of elite kickers, he is right there. There is certainly nothing to bemoan. But if you are Miami, a team that questionably doled out major contract extensions to its top skill players last year, every penny counts and that certainly applies to any player who plays special teams only.

And when it comes to Sanders, there is an argument to be made that the Dolphins can save a pretty significant amount of money by moving on.

Sanders signed a five-year, $22 million contract extension with the Dolphins in 2021 with $10 million guaranteed.

For 2025, Sanders’ contract has a $4 million base with $731,500 of prorated signing bonus for a total cap hit of $4.7 million. If he is released prior to June 1, Miami takes a hit with $1.4 million in dead money but still saves $3.3 million against the 2025 cap. The relief in 2026 on his $4.2 million salary would be $3.9 million with $663,000 in dead money, while 2027 is a void year on his contract.

Those savings are inflated even further if the team waits and releases him after June 1. In short, the Dolphins would save an extra $463,000 for a $4 million dollar cap relief in ’25 and would save an additional $258,150 for a total of $4.25 million of savings in ‘26.

Rookies typically enter the league on what is called an "entry-level deal," with terms being four years and salary dictated by when the player was selected. Given that they are rarely selected before the seventh round, rookie specialists tend to end up with the league minimum $750,000 salary.

In rudimentary terms, if Miami were to draft a kicker in the seventh round this year, the savings would roughly amount to between $3 million and $4 million in 2025 and ’26, depending on when Sanders was released. It is a significant amount.

WHY THIS YEAR?

Miami has selected four kickers on draft day in its history and before Sanders none in a 33-year span.

The Dolphins picked one of their most well-known kickers, lefty Garo Yepremian in the ninth round of the 1966 AFL draft. In 1973, they selected Mike Michel in the 17th (!) round and in 1985 they chose University of Tennessee product Fuad Reveiz in the 7th round. 

So aside from potential contract savings, why would this year be the one for Miami to pick a kicker? The answer is simple: Miami has three selections in the seventh round of the 2025 draft.

While seventh-round picks typically are not so challenging to give up, they do often provide teams an opportunity to pick up players to help fill out the roster or someone with some type of perceived NFL flaw who might just turn into something. The most notable recent example to point out is San Francisco starting QB Brock Purdy, the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 draft.

With three picks, it makes things less painful in terms of using a pick on a kicker, and also takes a little bit of the worry away that the player your team covets signs with another team post-draft during the undrafted free agency period.

TOP 2025 KICKING PROSPECTS

In 2025, three kickers are widely viewed as the top pro prospects — Andres Borregales (Miami), Ryan Fitzgerald (FSU) and Ben Sauls (Pittsburgh), with each having strengths and potential weaknesses to consider.

Borregales’ strength lies in his accuracy, posting no worse than an 81.0% FG connect rate in his four years, highlighted by a 2024 season that saw him connect on 94.7% (18-of-19) of his attempts, and was 2-for-2 from beyond 50 yards (long 56).

Concerns about Borregales are simple: He weighs 170 pounds and lacks power and hang time on kickoffs. Some teams also have concerns about kickers who primarily play in warm weather.

Fitzgerald of Florida State will also have that climate ding, having played five college seasons in the Florida sun. And while consistency may be a concern, Fitzgerald could be considered the rising star of the class.

Between 2020-22, Fitzgerald was a miserable 26-of-40 on field goals (65%). In his final two seasons, he was 32-of-34 with all five of his attempts from 50+ yards finding the mark and a long of 59 against Oklahoma. He has thrived under pressure and is an outstanding kickoff specialist with a huge leg who averaged 64.3 yards with an 81% touchback rate (34-of-42) in 2024. He even posted impressive games in cold weather at Notre Dame and Boston College. In addition, he can serve as a backup punter.

Sauls is another player with a big leg who started his career serving only on kickoffs. Like Fitzgerald, his career has been a little up and down but was punctuated by a strong 2024 campaign (21-of-24, 6-of-7 from 50+). Cold weather will not be a concern, nor will having the leg strength to be consistent on kickoffs.

Of the three, Fitzgerald seems like the top choice if the Dolphins go the draft route instead of sticking with a proven commodity who’s been with the team since he was one of those incoming rookie kickers eight years ago.

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