When the San Francisco 49ers drafted Jake Moody with the 99th overall pick in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, criticism was hurled at the wall faster than a Waffle House plate. The 49ers were coming off an NFC Championship game loss, and had it not been for a Jaquiski Tartt dropped interception, they would have made it to the Super Bowl. They were on the doorstep of greatness, yet they selected a kicker.
Not a Right Tackle, which is still a massive question mark on a Super Bowl-caliber roster, and at the time, a kicker did not feel like a need. Veteran Robbie Gould was coming off a stellar season in the final year of his contract and expressed interest in returning. San Francisco declined, opting for a younger and stronger-legged option.
49ers Draft Process
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The San Francisco 49ers made Jake Moody the third-highest drafted kicker since 2004, behind Mike Nugent (47th overall) and Robert Aguayo (59th overall). It was a decision led by special teams coordinator Brian Schneider, who called Moody’s workout “perfect” and signed off on by head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Yet 49ers’ fans needed more justification that would only come by seeing Moody put together a near-perfect season. It was the opposite. Multiple missed field goals during the 49ers’ three-game losing streak and a blocked extra point in the Super Bowl have fans pessimistic about the kicker position. But the tide is changing.
Trending Optimism
Last offseason, the 49ers traded for Zane Gonzalez opening up a kicking competition in case Moody struggled. Moody won the competition despite missing two field goals and one extra point in the preseason. This year, Moody was the only kicker in camp and was borderline perfect, only missing one field goal.
Moody’s 2024 preseason performance is the first time there has been full confidence in him. He is the 49ers’ undisputed kicker. And after roster cuts, San Francisco must feel vindication of one of their most criticized picks in recent history.
49ers’ Vindication
While Moody still has plenty to prove, San Francisco should feel better about the pick today. As part of one of their roster cuts, the New England Patriots released kicker Chad Ryland after losing a competition with veteran Joey Slye. Ryland was the 112th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and the second kicker taken.
Ryland struggled in his rookie campaign, as did the rest of the Patriots’ roster, making just 64 percent of his field goal opportunities. Moody and Ryland are a tale of two cities or the Ying Yang of drafting kickers. Like any other prospect, college performance is irrelevant to an NFL career. Can it project a talent’s output or indicate how good a player might be? Yes, but kickers, more so than any other position, are a wild card.
Their size or speed is not important. Even their collegiate field percentage means very little when dictating how a kicker will perform at the NFL level. While in college, Moody and Ryland made 82 percent of their field goal attempts. A statistic that made deciding on which kicker to draft a toss-up. But San Francisco got their guy and the right one at that. Moody may not be perfect, but compared to Ryland, he makes the 49ers clear winners of the kicker market.
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