We’ve finally seen the first kicker come off the board in the 2017 draft. The Bengals selected Jake Elliott out of Memphis with the 153rd overall pick in the fifth round.
Jake Elliott, not Zane Gonzalez, was the first kicker taken in the 2017 NFL Draft
No team traded up to take a kicker in the second round this year.
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Elliott earned first-team all-conference recognition in every season with the Tigers, and he converted 21 of 26 field-goal attempts last season. The Bengals needed a kicker after parting ways with Mike Nugent, who missed six of 29 field goals and six of 29 PATs last season.
Last year, Roberto Aguayo was the first kicker off the board in the NFL draft when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded up in the second round to select him, and Aguayo had mixed results on the field.
Aguayo improved as the season went on, but he struggled early, missing nine of 31 field goal attempts and two PATs over the course of the season. The Buccaneers brought in Nick Folk to compete with Aguayo this offseason.
Zane Gonzalez out of Arizona State was expected to be the first kicker off the board this year. Arizona State fans aren’t impressed.
It is a little surprising that the Bengals went with Elliott instead of Gonzalez. Elliott was projected to go undrafted, while Gonzalez was projected as a third or fourth rounder.
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