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Jets Believe Undrafted Kicker Has Shot to Earn Starting Job

New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is excited about undrafted free agent kicker Chris Naggar and believes Naggar has a shot to be the Jets starting kicker

Max Goodman

The Jets may have found their answer at kicker.

After signing Chris Naggar as an undrafted free agent out of SMU, Jets head coach Robert Saleh revealed that New York believes the kicker has a legitimate shot at earning a spot on this team in the offseason.

"Very excited about him, giving him a chance," Saleh said on Friday. "[We're going] to give him the opportunity to come here and compete for that job. That's a real deal and it's gonna be fun to watch."

Saleh added that special teams coach Brant Boyer did a lot of work on Naggar before the Jets brought him in after the draft. 

Naggar was 17-for-21 on field goals (81%) in 2020, which led the AAC. He nailed 43 of his 46 extra points. Naggar was even a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award and was named AAC special teams player of the year

The kicker transferred to SMU after beginning his college career at Texas. He has experience punting in college as well. 

Breaking Down the Jets' 2021 Undrafted Free Agent Signings

Naggar joins Sam Ficken as the only two kickers presently on New York's roster. Ficken has donned green and white for the last two seasons, making 32 of his 42 field goal tries in that span. 

Last season, New York used three different kickers over the course of their two-win campaign. Ficken played in nine games, Sergio Castillo played in six and Chase McLaughlin made an appearance in one game. 

McLaughlin joined the Jets off waivers last December, but was released this week.  

Naggar will have a good chance to impress the coaching staff over the next several months, leading into training camp and eventually the preseason. 

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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