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| Photo: Auburn Tigers |
The Vikings drafted kicker Daniel Carlson in the fifth-round of the NFL draft. Find out what makes him one of the unique kickers to enter the league in recent seasons.
Updated: June 29, 2018, 12:30 p.m.
By: Daniel House
NFL teams are trying to create competition at every position
on a 90-man training camp roster. This even applies to specialists, who play an
integral role in an important phase of the game – special teams.
The Vikings spent a fifth-round pick on Auburn kicker Daniel
Carlson, a two-time All-American and three-time Lou Groza Award winner. It
cranks up the temperature of a training camp competition between the rookie
kicker and veteran Kai Forbath.
Last season, Forbath missed five of his 39 extra point ties,
many of which came at inopportune times. He also converted just 32 of his 38 field
goal tries (84%). Two of those missed attempts took place during close losses
against Detroit and Carolina. There were certainly moments where Forbath made
things interesting in 2017. However, his 53-yard field goal in the final
minutes of the NFC Divisional game vs. New Orleans was critical.
At the end of the day, it’s about overall consistency. The Vikings
not only had the chance to draft a talented kicker, but created another competition
at an important position.
Daniel Carlson set the SEC career points record last season (474
points) and holds 14 kicking records at Auburn. He made 23-of-31 field goal
attempts in 2017, going 4-of-8 from 50-plus yards (three of those blocked). His
kicking percentage dropped ten percent during his senior year, but a few of
those misses were the result of blocked kicks and long attempts.
Minnesota’s coaches will likely value Daniel Carlson’s
ability to boom kickoffs deep as well. He booted 156-of-222 attempts out of the
back of the end zone, which was one of the top marks in college football.
Stretching field position can put pressure on an an opponent and place your
defense in favorable situations. Traditionally, Forbath’s kickoff statistics
have been unimpressive, but he drastically improved last year, finishing tied
for eighth in kickoff average (63.5). However, Carlson has the chance to be one
of the top kickers in this metric, as evidenced by his past college success.
During the draft process, many talent evaluators I talked
with said Carlson was one of the best kickers they had watched in recent
seasons. It’s clear based upon all of the interest he received during the draft
process.
Leading up to the draft, Carlson held private workouts with
the Dolphins, Seahawks, Giants and Bengals. The interest increased substantially
after he made all of his kicks during the NFL Scouting Combine. He also worked
out privately with Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer and the coach
left impressed. Minnesota traded up to draft Carlson, who became just the
seventh kicker selected in team history. Prior to Blair Walsh in 2012, the
Vikings had not selected a kicker since Mike Wood in 1978.
One of the most unique aspects of Daniel Carlson is his
size. He is currently the tallest kicker in the NFL. Carlson measures in at 6-foot-5,
213 pounds and is just an inch shy of breaking an NFL record. Former Bengals
and Packers kicker Travis Dorsch is the tallest kicker in NFL history at
6-foot-6. It’s not often you’ll see a kicker with this type of size.
Some evaluators search for kickers with smaller profiles to
execute a more compact striking motion. However, there are many advantages
associated with taller kickers, such as distance and leg strength for kickoffs
or deep field goals. Carlson addressed this during his post-draft conference
call.
“There are advantages with having longer levers. For people
that understand golf, where having a longer club you get more force just by
simple physics, to what you’re kicking or hitting, whatever it is. Those are
the advantages,” Carlson said. “That helps a lot with kickoffs, longer field
goals, all that stuff.
When a player has this type of size, the key is focusing on
the technique, while making sure all of the smaller details are executed at a high
level. This includes the kicker's alignment, approach, striking area and launch ankle.
As basic laws of physics tell us, centripetal force is the
force a kicker applies that pulls the football inward, causing the ball to move
in a circular motion. This force acts in the equal and opposite direction to
centrifugal force (an apparent force). I highly recommend reading
Ray Guy’s kicking book to learn more about this.
The centrifugal force is the apparent force of the football
moving on a curved path outward and away from the center of the curve. If more
centrifugal force occurs, additional vertical rotation will be applied. Little
things such as how much tilt the holder applies, can improve the centrifugal force (or vertical rotation). This directly impacts how the kicker strikes the
ball, including its overall path and accuracy. If a kicker is taller, the
contact area with the football can also vary because of his longer levers. Many
evaluators have long believed centrifugal force is accomplished at a higher level
when a kicker’s levers and motion are more compact.
As you’ll learn in Ray Guy’s book, approach, target zone, striking
angle/placement, plant step, follow through and vertical rotation (maximizing centrifugal
force) are all things going through a kicker’s mind with every rep. It’s why
consistency and a focus on technique are extra important for taller kickers
like Carlson.
“You have to also be consistent and that’s sometimes where a
smaller guy has a bigger advantage because he doesn’t have long levers to
move,” Carlson explained. “That’s something I’ve worked on very hard over the
years and making sure I’m consistent and smooth so that I can be as consistent
or more consistent than any other body size.”
So how many kickers have succeeded who don’t feature smaller
body profiles?
The last kicker who had a successful career with a 6-foot-5
profile was Mike Vanderjagt. During his nine-year NFL stint with the Colts and
Cowboys, he converted 86.5% of his field goals tries and was voted to a Pro
Bowl.
Outside of that, the most recent kicker with a tall body
profile is Harrison Butker (6-foot-4). Last year, during his rookie season,
Butker converted 90.5% (38-for-42) of his attempts and all 28 extra
points. There were similar concerns for Butker when he was evaluated in the
draft process. He at least silenced those critics for one season with his
strong performance.
With Carlson, there’s no doubting he can improve the Vikings’
field goal range, kickoff depth and field position. The question is whether the
coaches feel comfortable with his ability to convert field goals accurately
from varying distances. With his conversion percentage dropping in college, it’s
worth seeing how he handles field goals from 25-45 yards out at the next level. Maintaining
sound technique and continually improving will go a long way toward helping
him sustain success.
The Vikings selected Carlson in the fifth-round for a
reason. He was one of the most talented specialists in the draft. He also provides
competition at the position and may upgrade the overall production output at
kicker.
Training camp and the preseason will decide the competition,
but it’s clear the Vikings value Carlson after trading up to select him.
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