In today’s NFL, kickers are nearly perfect from 39 yards and in and improving but still variable on kicks of 50 or longer, making the range in between — from 40 to 49 yards — so valuable in judging the kicker.
In signing veteran Brandon McManus, the Green Bay Packers should be getting a big improvement in this vital range.
Between Anders Carlson and Brayden Narveson over the last two regular seasons, the Packers were 9-for-17 on field goals between 40 and 49 yards. Carlson was 4-for-8 from that distance during the regular season, and his 43-yard miss in San Francisco was a game-changing play late in the Packers’ playoff loss. Narveson started this season 5-for-9, with an NFL-high four misses between 40 and 49 yards, including a 44-yard miss on Sunday. He was also one of three kickers to miss from inside 40. His inconsistencies inside 50 forced the Packers’ hand.
The problem could be solved by McManus, who is arriving in Green Bay after connecting on 72 of his 84 attempts (85.7 percent) between 40 and 49 yards during his 10-year NFL career.
Since 2010, McManus ranks ninth in field goal percentage among kickers with at least 10 attempts between 40 and 49 yards. He is also eight percentage points better than the league average (77.7) over that time span.
Overall, McManus has connected on 90.8 percent of his kicks inside 50 yards. He has been remarkably reliable on kicks that NFL kickers are expected to make. His career field goal percentage of 81.8 is weighed down heavily by 82 attempts over 50 yards, a result of having a big, powerful leg and playing nine seasons with the Denver Broncos in the altitude.
McManus has also made 97.1 percent of his career extra points, and he’s coming off a season in which he made 35-of-35 for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Last season, McManus went 60-for-62 on kicks of 49 yards or in and extra points combined. He’s going to get the points that kickers are expected to consistently get. Viewed that way, McManus is a massive upgrade for the Packers at kicker.