Jaguars Minicamp Preview: Examining Kicker Battle
The Jacksonville Jaguars will be entering a key phase in their offseason soon, after weeks of organized team activities where the Jaguars and head coach Doug Pederson have set the stage for 2022 season.
So, what is next?
"We still have this week and next week to wrap things up and still have a lot to get accomplished," Pederson said on Monday.
"For me, it’s obviously number one coming out healthy, no setbacks there, whether it’s a healthy guy now or a guy that’s injured that’s back out practicing with us, and really carrying momentum into training camp. The guys have done an excellent job. We’ve had great attendance as you know, and just sort of keeping that momentum as we sort of wind down here the next couple weeks.”
Among the biggest questions facing the Jaguars entering mandatory minicamp next week is where the team stands at several key positions.
In our lead up to Pederson's first minicamp at the helm of the Jaguars' organization, we will take a look at several of the competitions the Jaguars have at those key spots.
First up: the kicker battle, a standoff between veteran Ryan Santoso and undrafted free agent Andrew Mevis.
The competition
The Jaguars haven't been shy about their desire for an improved kicking game in 2022. They waived 2021 kicker Matthew Wright before OTAs began after he appeared in 14 games last year. The Jaguars had three kickers on the 90-man roster between Wright, Santoso and Mevis, and Wright was the odd man out entering the offseason's practices.
"You get into a spot where you don’t want too many kickers obviously in the room, but we have great competition there with Ryan and now Mevis, a guy we picked up here late. [We] just want to see consistency in what we’re asking that position to do," Pederson said last month during rookie minicamp.
"We know that we have to improve and get better there and that’s a big part of wins and losses and whether to kick off or three points or whatever it might be. This will be great for both guys now moving forward to create that competition.”
Wright was mostly a solid performer in terms of field goals and extra points last year, but the Jaguars still struggled in terms of field position because Wright wasn't able to boom kicks on kickoffs.
Wright made 21-of-24 field goals (87.5%) in 2021 and made 13-of-15 extra points. He was 7-of-10 from kicks of 40 yards or longer and made a 56-yard field goal, but his field goal issues led to several big returns down the stretch of the season.
Overall, the Jaguars finished 29th in the NFL in field goal percentage (77.8%) and Wright's six touchbacks in 31 kickoffs gave him a 19.4% touchback rate -- the second-worst among all qualifying kickers.
As a result, the Jaguars have entered this offseason with a new plan at kicker. There was no big investment made, but there are two new faces who have never before kicked for the Jaguars.
The candidates
Santoso was signed by the Jaguars in March. The free agent kicker has been in the NFL since 2018 and spent time with the Los Angeles Rams' practice squad, while also appearing in games with the Titans and Panthers.
Santoso is relatively inexperienced in terms of game action, making four-of-five field goals at the NFL level while hitting six of eight extra points. He does have kickoff experience, though, and has converted a touchback on 21 of his 32 career kickoffs, a 65.6% rate. This would have been 15th best in the NFL in 2021.
As a whole, Santoso has roughly the same amount of experience that Wright had when he first kicked for the Jaguars last season. He has a limited sample size as a field goal kicker, but he clearly would offer a big boost in terms of kickoff coverage thanks to his stronger leg.
Meanwhile, Mevis enters the NFL as a player who is fresh off a solid final season in college. Mevis was 32-of-32 on extra-point attempts for Iowa State last year and made 20-of-23 field goals, making him a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award. He also recorded 55 touchbacks as a kickoff member, while also taking on punter duties at one point in the 2021 season.
Mevis tied the Iowa State record for field goals made in a season (20) and his 87% field goal rate is the second best in school history. He made 10 field goals of 40 or more yards, a school record, and was sixth in the nation in that regard. He was also 2-of-2 on kicks of 50 yards or longer, showing off a leg big enough for big kicks.
Why minicamp is important
The feeling around the Jaguars' kickers during OTAs was that each still had to prove themselves but that things had not yet really ramped up in terms of their competition. Each took turns kicking at practices, but that stage of the offseason was much too early to name a leader in the race to be kicker.
Minicamp could see that competition take another step forward as the Jaguars enter a new stage of the offseason and inch closer and closer to having Pederson's entire program and benchmarks established. Santoso and Mevis each spent OTAs getting comfortable with the new coaching staff, so minicamp should see each in a better spot in terms of sheer consistency.
Having a leader at the kicker position ahead of training camp would be a big deal for the Jaguars. It isn't exactly expected to happen, but there is always the chance of a player establishing himself over the other as the offseason inches closer and closer to the finish line.
