2015 NFL Draft: Top 5 Place Kickers

Dec 30, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish kicker Kyle Brindza (27) kicks the game winning field goal during the second half against the LSU Tigers in the Music City Bowl at LP Field. Notre Dame won 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

3. Kyle Brindza, Notre Dame

A bit of the anti-Sam Ficken, strong legged yet poor accuracy is what Kyle Brindza is about. He constantly found himself missing clutch fourth quarter kicks in 2014.  Five of Brindza’s ten misses last season came in the fourth quarter. In 2014, Brindza made 14 out of 24 of his attempted field goals. This came after fairly successful 2012, and 2013 seasons for Brindza. His career long kick is 53 yards, coming in 2013.

As bad as 14 out of 24 may sound, and yes an accuracy percentage of 58.3 is darn near awful, Brindza is a player that will be looked at by NFL scouts. Reason being is he’s a prospect with spectacular leg strength. In 2014, Brindza averaged 63.4 yards per kickoff and knocked 64.2 percent of those kicks for touch-backs. Uniquely enough, he was able to handle both punter and place kicker duties for Notre Dame in 2014; making him a possible emergency punter if/when he ever makes an NFL team as a place kicker.

On the whole, Kyle Brindza is a kicking prospect with potential due to his strong leg. Brindza has a high ceiling, but also a low floor. If it wasn’t for Brindza’s strong kickoff ability, I’m not sure he’d even be on this list at all. Perhaps Brindza will find some consistency and start to resemble more of his 2012-2013 self.

Still even in 2012-2013, Brindza never kicked for higher than a 76.9 accuracy percentage. Brindza will likely be forced to prove himself via an NFL tryout or camp invite; I do not see him being drafted. I might sound doom and gloom on Brindza, but again this is a prospect with talent, maybe someday soon he can find a way to actually act on.

Next: 2. Justin Manton, Louisiana Monroe