Narveson: ‘I Want To Be the Best of All-Time’

The Green Bay Packers hope rookie Brayden Narveson can solve their kicking issues. The first two practices, at least, have been encouraging.

Brayden Narveson / Packers On SI

GREEN BAY, Wis. – As the saying goes, “The sixth time’s the charm.” OK, that’s not the saying, but the Green Bay Packers are hoping their sixth kicker of the year, rookie Brayden Narveson, will solve the team’s kicking problems.

“I can’t wait to see what happens in the game,” coach Matt LaFleur said after Sunday’s practice, the first this week before the team flies to Brazil to face the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1.

All offseason and training camp, incumbent Anders Carlson and veteran addition Greg Joseph were the main characters in a revolving-door kicking battle that included Jack Podlesny, James Turner and Alex Hale.

Ultimately, after settling on Joseph, general manager Brian Gutekunst chose Door No. 6, Narveson, an undrafted free agent who showed his NFL talent during a superb preseason with the Tennessee Titans.

So far, so good.

“I’ve seen enough to be confident in him,” LaFleur said.

Running on “no sleep” after being claimed off waivers a day earlier, Narveson made all five field-goal attempts during a Thursday night practice in Lambeau Field. He said he made kicks from 56 and 58 yards.

“A lot of the first kicks that we had were into the wind – 48 into the wind, 56 into the wind,” he said. “Tough kicks to make that I expect to make fully but, at the same time, coming into a new spot, not getting any real reps with the holder and snapper pre(-practice) and going into a scrimmage-like setting in Lambeau Field, I think it’s just going to prepare me down the line.”

At Sunday’s practice, he made 5-of-6. The miss was from 51 yards. “Made from 53, though,” he quickly interjected.

That’s 10-of-11, by his tally, which would make him a Hall of Famer by this year’s training camp standards, when Carlson and Joseph struggled to hit merely 80 percent of their attempts.

Teammates are encouraged – “He made some pretty impressive kicks,” quarterback Jordan Love said – with the obvious caveat that none of the kicks made at practice will translate to Friday night’s season-opening game in Brazil against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“At the end of the day, all you can ask for is the opportunity,” Narveson said. “And once you get the opportunity, you’ve got to be ready. You can only make a first impression one time. So, I was very conscious of that. Every day has to be a first-day audition in my head. From practice to games to walkthroughs to in the weight room, everywhere I am, that’s how I’m going to approach every day.”

Narveson went undrafted out of North Carolina State, the fourth school in his NFL odyssey. With the Titans, he made 6-of-7 field goals. Against Seattle in the second preseason game, he made a 59-yarder and a 46-yarder at the buzzer for the win.

The lone preseason miss was a 58-yarder on the final play of the first half in the finale against New Orleans. He made the first kick but the Saints called timeout; the second kick was short.

Nonetheless, the Titans chose to go with veteran Nick Folk. General manager Ran Carthon, coach Brian Callahan and special teams coordinator Colt Anderson wanted him on their practice squad but, of course, he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be the Packers’ kicker.

“They’re like, ‘Look, you deserve to go play somewhere. We would love to have you back here, but you deserve what you’re going to get,’” Narveson said.

The first person Narveson called was his wife. A native of Prescott, Wis. – about 4 hours straight west from Green Bay – she grew up a Packers fan.

Before the draft, they talked about the possibility of being drafted by the Packers.

“She was like, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t know what I would do.’ It was just a bunch of excitement,” Narveson said. 

Now, the excitement is real.

“When I called and told her I got claimed by the Packers, she was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ She hung the phone up and called her parents immediately. So, she was probably more excited than I was but, obviously, very thankful for me, as well.”

Now, it’s up to Narveson to make his wife proud and the team happy that it rolled the dice in adding a young kicker to what appears to be a championship-caliber roster.

“I prepared, I got opportunities in the games, I executed in the games. That gave me the chance to come here, and I’m ecstatic,” Narveson said.

“I’m excited to be here and I’m going to continue to get better, because I don’t want to stop here and I don’t feel like I’ve arrived. At any point in time, it can be taken from me just like that. So, that’s my thought process.

“Every day I’m going to go out there, do everything in my power to get better, because, ultimately, I want to be the best of all-time. That’s my goal for myself. I want to help the team win and whatever comes with that.”

More Green Bay Packers News

Who is Brayden Narveson? Can he handle the pressure that comes with being the #Packers' kicker?

I talked to his longtime kicking coach today. ⬇️https://t.co/8Ylt4NXaJ3

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 29, 2024

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