Buccaneers will bring in competition for Roberto Aguayo a year after taking him in the 2nd round

Don’t sound the alarms and don’t point and laugh just quite yet, 2016 second-round pick Roberto Aguayo is still the favorite to be the kicker of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But head coach Dirk Koetter told reporters Monday that the team plans to bring in competition at the position.

Aguayo missed five of his first 11 field goals of the year, before settling in with 16 successful field goals in his last 20 attempts. He made just one of three field goals in the team’s Week 17 finale against the Carolina Panthers.

“Our field goal percentage of this year is not good enough,” Koetter said at a press conference Monday. “[General manager] Jason [Licht] and I have already talked and it has been proven that we have no problem moving on from a draft choice and playing somebody that wasn’t drafted. We did it this year and we did it a year ago.

“We have to have competition at every position and if they’re not the best player, I’m certain they won’t be out there.”

Aguayo finished the year with a field goal percentage of 71 percent and his longest successful kick of the year was a 43-yard attempt in Week 1. Koetter defended his lack of long kicks, though, telling reporters that the team just didn’t provide him many opportunities to kick from long distance.

His field goal percentage was the lowest in the NFL, but Aguayo was 32 of 34 on extra points.

Competition in camp isn’t uncommon for kickers, though. If nothing else, teams need more than one kicker to give the rest of the special teams units reps. But Aguayo will still need to elevate his play if he hopes to stay with the Buccaneers long, second-round selection or not.