Who Will Win Rams' Kicker Competition Heading Into Season?

The kicker position is up in the air for the Los Angeles Rams, with two players performing well in practice.

Mar 3, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stanford place kicker Joshua Karty (PK01) during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

While many positions seem to be locked in for the Los Angeles Rams, there are still a few with question marks next to them.

This includes the kicker. While it isn't the most glamorous position in football, it is one of the most necessary, requiring skill and the ability to perform well under pressure.

Right now, Los Angeles has two options for kicker: Tanner Brown and Joshua Karty.

Tanner Brown has the advantage of having already worked with the Rams in 2023, although he never actually saw any play.

Brown began his collegiate career with College of the Canyons in 2018, helping lead the team to back-to-back division championships in 2018 and 2019 as a kicker and a punter. He was named an All-American in both positions.

After a year as a punter at UNLV, Brown went to Oklahoma State where he joined as a walk-on. In two seasons with the Cowboys, Brown went 78 for 78 on extra points and 39 for 44 on field goals. He scored a total of 195 points, the 15th-most points in school history.

All that being said, the Rams will more than likely go with rookie Joshua Karty as their kicker.

In his first season with Stanford in 2021, Karty went 27 for 27 on extra points and 10 for 15 on field goals, leaving his field goal percentage at 66.7 percent.

In 2022, he went 24 for 25 on extra points, but improved his field goal percentage by going 18 for 18. This included a game where he made five field goals to help Standford beat Arizona State 15-14.

Another noteworthy performance had him making three field goals against Notre Dame, causing him to be named Pac-12 special teams player of the week. He wound up being a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, which is given to the best kicker in the nation.

In 2023, Karty went 21 for 21 on extra points and 23 for 27 on field goal attempts. Throughout his college career, Karty went 72 for 73 on extra point attempts and had an average field goal percentage of 85 percent. He scored a total of 225 points.

All that being said, the most significant indicator that the Rams will go with Karty over Brown is that they actually selected him in the 2024 NFL draft with the 209th overall pick, one of three kickers selected in the draft.

Because of this, it's safe to assume the Karty will be Los Angeles' starting kicker going into 2024.

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