While the Chicago Bears don’t have any glaring holes in their roster, the one nagging problem that needs resolution this offseason is kicker.
Ryan Pace has made it clear that he’s open to competition at the kicker position, which has been evident in the three kickers he’s added through free agency this offseason.
Chris Blewitt, Redford Jones and Elliott Fry are currently on the Bears’ roster, but that doesn’t mean that Pace won’t look to the 2019 NFL Draft to add another.
If there’s been one position that has snake bitten Pace since he’s been general manager, it’s been kicker. And after the Bears suffered an early playoff exit as a result of the position, it’s no wonder Pace is determined to remedy it.
“Right now we’re all just very open-minded,” Pace said last month. “We have two kickers on the roster now and we’re open to continue to add competition to the position. The keyword is competition at that spot and doing creative things to make them feel that pressure and that competition.”
The Bears have met with all kickers at the NFL Scouting Combine, showing interest in Matt Gay, Cole Tracy, Austin Seibert and Marc Orozco.
Let’s take a look at three kickers that the Bears can target late in the 2019 NFL Draft or even as undrafted free agents.
Matt Gay, Utah
Considered by many to be the top kicker prospect in this year’s draft, Utah’s Matt Gay has a big, booming leg that can boot 60-yard field goals.
While there are concerns about his accuracy between 40-49, Gay does possess the best field goal percentage above expected in the nation at +5.6 percent.
During his collegiate career, Gay went 26-for-31 field goals. He was perfect under 39 yards, going 16-for-16, but struggled between forty yards, going 7-for-10.
He was 3-for-5 from 50-plus, and his career-long was 55 yards.
Cole Tracy, LSU
The other top kicker prospect in the 2019 NFL Draft, LSU’s Cole Tracy is the kicker that the Bears have shown the most interest in.
While he might not be able to boot 60-yard field goals like Matt Gay, he has shown more consistency overall as a kicker in his collegiate career.
During his career at LSU, Tracy went 29-for-33 on field goals, including 20-for-21 from under 39 yards.
But perhaps most encouraging is Tracy’s consistency from 40 yards and beyond. He made 6-of-7 from 40-49 and 3-for-5 from beyond 50, including a career-long of 54 yards.
Austin Seibert, Oklahoma
There’s a slight drop off from Matt Gay and Cole Tracy to another kicker the Bears have met with during the draft process in Oklahoma’s Austin Seibert.
While he’s consistent from under 39 yards, there’s a concern when it comes to lack of experience beyond 40 yards.
During his collegiate career, Seibert has booted 17-for-19 field goals, including 16-for-17 from under 39.
But beyond that, Seibert’s only attempted two field goals from beyond 40 yards, including 1-for-1 from 40-49, his career long of 42-yards, and 0-for-1 from beyond 50 yards.
That’s certainly a concern in Chicago, where you need to have a big leg to kick in the wind that swirls in Soldier Field.
