2017 NFL Draft Kansas City Chiefs Scouting Report: Zane Gonzalez
By Ben Almquist
It is a bit surprising, but the Kansas City Chiefs appear interested in kickers. Zane Gonzalez of Arizona State is the best in the draft.
One would think that the Kansas City Chiefs are already set at the kicker position with Cairo Santos. While nobody is going to claim he’s the best kicker in the NFL, he is far from the worst. However, the Chiefs have shown interest in several kicker prospects. Most notably, KC has looked at top kicker Zane Gonzalez of Arizona State.
Last season, Cairo Santos finished in the top ten for field goals made, and top five for field goal percentage. With that being just his third season, you would think the Chiefs would want to lock him up long-term. However, KC used a Restricted Free Agent (RFA) tender on Santos instead. So far, there don’t appear to have been any attempts to do a new contract.
It’s hard to gauge the specifics on what a team is looking for at kicker. I mean, it seems pretty obvious…you want a guy who can kick the ball a long ways in a straight line. What else could there be? I’m not going to pretend to know much more than that.
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My best guess is that the Kansas City Chiefs see something that makes them unsure about the future of Cairo Santos. If that is the case, it makes sense to look for another option. The same could be true if there are simply some contractual issues at stake. Maybe that’s the reason. Whatever the case, the Chiefs are interested in kickers.
Zane Gonzalez – K – Arizona State
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When looking for a kicker, most people take into consideration awards, honors, and records. Zane Gonzalez has earned all three at Arizona State. Gonzalez holds the FBS record for most field goals made. He did that while keeping a pretty good percentage as well. Hard to say much more for a kicker.
Zane Gonzalez has a power full leg, having made seven of his nine attempts from 50+ last year. He also had a touchback rate of over 75%. At the same time, Gonzalez proved himself to be very accurate. He finished his career as the 24th most accurate kicker in FBS history.
As for weaknesses…I don’t know what you want me to tell you. I have no eye for kicker mechanics, so I won’t pretend to know. He’s accurate and kicks for distance. What else is there? Not a great tackler…I guess.
Does Zane Gonzalez fit what the Chiefs want at kicker? I would think so. He kicks the ball a long ways and it goes straight. He does it on both kickoffs and field goals. Seems like the kind of guy you want to bring in if you need a kicker.
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The Kansas City Chiefs appear to be in the market for a kicker. I don’t know the reason why, but I fully support upgrading any position on the field. If the Chiefs take a kicker, it just has to be assumed that there was a reason for it.