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NY Giants: Top 5 kicker options to briefly replace Graham Gano

By Charles Vitolo

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - AUGUST 16: Riley Dixon #9 congratulates teammate Aldrick Rosas #2 of the New York Giants the extra point in the first quarter against the Chicago Bears during a preseason game at MetLife Stadium on August 16, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - AUGUST 16: Riley Dixon #9 congratulates teammate Aldrick Rosas #2 of the New York Giants the extra point in the first quarter against the Chicago Bears during a preseason game at MetLife Stadium on August 16, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Kicker Jonathan Brown of the Jaguars (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Kicker Jonathan Brown of the Jaguars (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /

4. Jonathan Brown* (currently on the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad)

If you’re looking for an outside-the-box fix, Jonathan Brown is your guy.

A former college soccer player at Lousiville and Kentucky, Jonathan Brown didn’t even attempt a field goal during his college career at Louisville.

Instead, he was recruited by the coaching staff due to his booming leg and the team needing a kickoff man with power able to provide touchbacks on a routine basis, something Brown surely possesses (the former soccer player average 70 air yards-per-kickoff in college).

Even though he never attempted a field goal in college, Brown was a highly-sought-after UDFA signing by the Cincinnati Bengals when he came out in 2016 and hung around with the Bengals for two seasons on the practice squad while he continued to hone his skills.

When Brown finally got the chance to show what he could do as an actual field goal kicker in the 2018 preseason, he flourished, connecting on 6-6 field goals with a long of 55. And, while that wasn’t enough to win him the starting job, it put him on the NFL radar and he ended up signing on with the San Fransisco 49ers practice squad.

After spending a year there, he latched on with the Jaguars in 2020 where he joined the afore-mentioned  Rosas to compete for the job. Although he didn’t win the starting job, the team thinks so highly of him that they have decided to keep him and Rosas on the practice squad which is very unusual.

Brown finally did get his first crack at kicking in an NFL regular-season game and the results weren’t overly-impressive as he went just 1-2. Still, the Jags are committed to keeping him for now as he clearly is showing in practice that he is oozing with potential.

So, while there are surely safer options on this list – especially for a one-game fill in – I wouldn’t be opposed to bringing him in for a game and then stashing him on the practice squad where he could potentially become out kickoff man should that time ever come.

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