New York Giants: Top 5 kicker replacements for Aldrick Rosas
By Henry Buggy
Big Blue is need of changes in all three phases.
The New York Giants top priority this offseason may be offensive line, but general manager Dave Gettleman will also have to address New York’s pitiful special teams play this offseason.
New York’s special teams almost single-handedly lost the team’s Week 15 meeting against Philadelphia. Kicker Aldrick Rosas proved to be another poor personnel decision for former general manager Jerry Reese.
The 23-year-old kicker out of Southern Oregon connected on just 72 percent of his field goal attempts, ranking worst among NFL kickers with a minimum of 20 attempts. He also missed three extra point attempts and had the league’s second worst extra point conversion percentage (87).
Adding a new kicker is surely not New York’s top priority. But there’s no questioning the impact a reliable kicker can have for a franchise. Stephen Hauschka made five consecutive playoff appearances with the Seattle Seahawks before departing for the Buffalo Bills last offseason.
The Bills went on to snap a 17-year playoff drought, while Seattle missed the postseason for the first time since 2011. Of course, Hauschka was not the sole reason for Buffalo’s playoff berth, but he did connect on 87.9 percent of field goal attempts. He also went 7-for-9 on field goals from 50-plus yards.
Seahawks kicker Blair Walsh, on the other hand, made just 72.4 percent of his field goal attempts and missed his only attempt over 50 yards.
The G-Men shouldn’t have to spend big money in free agency to land a kicker. There are multiple veterans on the free agent market and plenty of young options coming out of college.