Blake Grupe Facing Pressure As New Orleans Saints Kicker This Season

After some critical misfires as a rookie, Saints kicker Blake Grupe faces more pressure entering training camp

New Orleans Saints place kicker Blake Grupe (19) / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

As the New Orleans Saints entered training camp in 2023, one position that most felt was secure was at kicker. Veteran Wil Lutz was not at his best in 2022 after surgery that cost him all of the previous season. However, there weren't many that felt like Lutz was in jeopardy of losing his job.

Lutz, who spent all six of his NFL seasons with the Saints, was considered one of the most reliable kickers in the league. He was the franchise's all-time leader in field goal percentage (84.6%) for kickers who had played multiple seasons with the team. Lutz is second in franchise history only to Hall of Famer Morten Andersen in total points and extra points, field goals over 40 and 50 yards, and behind only Andersen and John Carney in successful field goals.

In 2022, Lutz had some uncharacteristic struggles. He'd converted just 23 of his 31 field goal attempts, a 74.2% conversion rate that was by far the lowest of his career. Most of those misses came in crucial moments, but it was still thought that he would rebound in the 2023 season.

New Orleans brought in an undrafted rookie kicker during last year's training camp. The thought was that he'd just provide insurance and an extra leg for Lutz to rest. What instead happened was one of the biggest surprises of the preseason, but also created questions heading into this year's training camp.

Blake Grupe, K

New Orleans Saints place kicker Blake Grupe (19) kicks a field goal against the Tennessee Titans / Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com / USA

Grupe began his collegiate career at Arkansas State. As a redshirt sophomore in 2019, his 19 of 22 field goals earned him 1st Team All-Sun Belt honors. He'd repeat the honor two years later with 20 out of 25 field goals and 31 extraordinary points.

In 2022, Grupe transferred to Notre Dame for his final college season. He left Arkansas State as the school's all-time leader in extra points, field goals, and total points scored. In his one year with the Fighting Irish, Grupe converted 14 of 19 field goals and all of his 49 extra point attempts.

Grupe immediately provided tight competition for Wil Lutz in training camp. Both kickers were accurate with good range throughout each practice and the preseason, with each missing only one kick. Surprisingly, the Saints would ultimately trade Lutz to the Denver Broncos just prior to the start of the regular season.

The kicking job, and the pressure to fill such big shoes, now belonged to Grupe. Through the first two games, the rookie was perfect on five field goals and three extra points. New Orleans won those two games by a combined four points.

New Orleans Saints place kicker Blake Grupe (19) misses a field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin /

In Week 3, the Saints squandered a 17-0 fourth quarter lead at Green Bay. Trailing 18-17 with just a minute to play, Grupe missed a 46-yard field goal that led to a one point defeat. The loss proved devastating, as the 9-8 Saints lost a playoff spot to the 9-8 Packers by virtue of that tiebreaker.

After the loss to Green Bay, Grupe was perfect on his five field goals and four extra points over the following two weeks. In a Week 6 game at Houston, Grupe would miss two field goals in a 20-13 loss. The first of those misfires was on a 52-yard attempt early in the game. It was the second miss that had many fans questioning the decision to keep the rookie over the clutch Lutz.

Grupe missed a 29-yard attempt early in the fourth quarter against the Texans with his team trailing by seven. While the distance was nearly inexcusable, the timing proved even worse. Twice later in the fourth New Orleans had driven to within field goal range, but were forced to go for fourth down attempts because of the score and failed.

It's conceivable that if Grupe were successful on the 29-yard miss, then successful kicks of what would have been 33-yard and 41-yard attempts on the following drive would have given the Saints a narrow victory. Again, it proved to be a costly loss for a New Orleans team that missed the postseason by just one game.

Grupe converted three of four field goal tries the following week against Jacksonville. However, he missed a 51-yard try on the opening drive of what turned out to be a 31-24 Jaguars victory. Grupe missed just two of his 17 field goal attempts through the final 10 games of the year. One was a 47-yarder in a win over Chicago. The other was a 54-yard attempt on a day when he converted five other field goals in a 24-15 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

New Orleans Saints place kicker Blake Grupe (19) kicks a field goal against the Jacksonville Jaguars / Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

For the year, Blake Grupe successfully converted all 40 of his extra point attempts. He was 30 of 37 on field goals, a conversion rate of 81.1%. He hit 16 of 18 attempts between 20 and 39 yards, eight of 10 between 40 and 49 yards, and was six of nine on attempts over 50 yards with a long of 55 yards on the year.

As for Lutz, he's looked to revitalize his career a bit in the thin air of Denver, thereby highlighting the decision to keep Grupe even further. Lutz missed two extra point attempts but was 30 of 34 on field goals (88.2%), with two of his misses coming from beyond 50 yards.

Grupe is far from the sole reason that the Saints missed the playoffs last season. In Green Bay, the defense collapsed in the fourth quarter and the offense was unable to put together a scoring drive in the second half to put the game away. Poor offensive play-calling and execution, along with crucial defensive breakdowns, were major culprits in the losses to Houston and Jacksonville. This has also been the case in several New Orleans losses the last two years.

The New Orleans Saints are a team with questionable coaching (at best) and some glaring holes on its roster. For such teams, the difference between a win or a loss, and often a postseason berth, often comes down to special teams or even a single kick conversion.

New Orleans Saints place kicker Blake Grupe (19) makes a field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers / Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

Blake Grupe will face pressure to be more consistent and better in clutch situations in his second season with the Saints. He may even face a stiff challenge to keep his job altogether. New Orleans signed former Gaelic footballer Charlie Smyth to a three-year contract this offseason.

Smyth is part of the NFL's International Player Pathway Program. He participated in the NFL Scouting Combine, where he converted 12 of his 16 field goal attempts. After hitting 8 of 10 kicks at his pro day, including a 60-yard kick, the Saints made the move to sign him to a multi-year deal.

Some may remember that Wil Lutz also had some struggles in his first year with the Saints in 2016. Lutz had three kicks blocked that season, with two returned for scores and another setting up an easy score for the opponent, that proved to be the difference in all three games. Blake Grupe may need the kind of rebound that Lutz had for New Orleans to be more confident in their kicking game in 2024.