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It's officially the dead part of the offseason, which can only mean one thing here at CBSSports.com: It's time for our annual top 10 ranking of each position group.Over the past few weeks, we've been ranking every position group to to to , and now, we've saved the best for almost last: kickers.Ranking kickers is pretty easy -- at least at the top -- because all you have to do is put at No. 1 and then go from there. However, things get slightly dicier after that. There are probably 12 to 14 kickers who could make an argument that they belong on this list, but we can only rank 10, so I'd like to send my early apologies to anyone who got left off.All right, let's get to the rankings, starting with the guys who got left off.Pineiro has quietly been one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL over the past two seasons. After going 8 of 8 during a short stint with the Jets in 2021, Pineiro latched on with the Panthers in 2022 and proved that his perfect season wasn't a fluke. Pineiro hit 94.3% of his field goals last season (33 of 35), which was the second-highest conversion rate in the NFL. Over the past two seasons, Pineiro has hit 95.3% of his field goal attempts, which makes him the NFL's most accurate kicker since the start of Richie Incognito Jersey the 2021 season. Pineiro helped the Panthers end their 2022 season on a high note when he kicked a game-winner against the to give Carolina a 10-7 win over New Orleans. EDDY FOR THE WIN Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) The Panthers were clearly thrilled with the way Pineiro kicked in 2022 because the team ended up rewarding him .Myers has a long track record of succe s in the NFL. Since entering the league in 2015, not only has Myers already been voted to two Pro Bowls, but he also pulled off one of the most succe sful kicking seasons in NFL history in 2020 when he made 100% of his kicks. Myers went 24 of 24 that year, making him one of only three kickers in league history to attempt 20 or more field goals in a season and make all of them (Mike Vanderjagt and Gary Anderson are the others). From November 2019 to September 2021, Myers hit 37 straight field goals, which still stands as the fourth-longest streak in NFL history. In 2022, Myers had another solid season, hitting 91.9% of his field goals, which made him the fifth-most accurate kicker in the NFL last year. The most impre sive part of Myers' season might have been the fact that he was perfect from beyond 50 yards, going 6 of 6. Johnathan Abram Jersey His perfect showing from that distance helped him put up 143 points last season, which led the NFL.Over the past six seasons, there haven't been many kickers better than Gano. In three of the past six years, Gano has ranked in the top eight in accuracy, including a 2017 season that ended with him as the NFL's most accurate kicker at 96.7%.In 2022, Gano hit 29 of 32 field goals, finishing as the NFL's eighth-most accurate kicker, but if you look closer at the numbers, Gano was actually better than his percentage suggested. Gano only mi sed two kicks from inside 57 yards last season (28 of 30) and one of those two mi ses wasn't even his fault, because it got blocked. Gano was especially good from long range in 2022, hitting 8 of 9 field goals from beyond 50 yards. His 88.9% conversion rate was the highest among kickers who attempted eight field goals or more from beyond 50 yards. Hitting long kicks from that distance is something that Gano has thrived at in his career. Back in 2018, Gano hit a 63-yard field goal while playing for the Panthers, which is still tied for the third-longest kick in NFL history. Flashback to 2018 when Graham Gano drilled a 63 yard walk off field goal to beat the Giants Carolina Panthers (@PantherTalk_) Gano has somehow gotten progre sively better with age. During his first full year in 2010, Gano mi sed 11 field goals, which is wild, when you consider that he's only mi sed 11 field goals COMBINED over the past six seasons.Elliott has been the Eagles kicker since 2017 and one big reason they keep him around is because he almost always comes up big in the clutch, which he proved in just his second game ever with the team when he hit a 61-yard game-winning field goal against the Giants. If there was a kick to sum up Elliott's clutchne s, this would be it.7 Jake Elliott's 61-yard field goal September 25, 2017 Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PAFINAL SCORE: 27-24, Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) Since then, Elliott has Josh Jacobs Jersey come up big multiple times for the Eagles, including their regular-season finale in 2022. In Week 18, the Eagles needed a win over the Giants to clinch the NFC's No. 1 seed and a big reason they ended up getting that win is because Elliott hit five field goals, including two from beyond 50 (52, 54).Over the past two seasons, Elliott has hit 88.9% of his kicks from beyond 50 (8 of 9), which is the best percentage for any kicker in the NFL who's attempted five or more kicks from that range. Although Elliott ranked 13th overall in accuracy last season (87%), that wasn't completely his fault. Of his three mi ses in 2022, one was blocked and one came from 54 yards.One other reason the Eagles likely love Elliott is because he's come up clutch in the postseason. Elliiott is a perfect 15-for-15 on playoff field goal attempts in his career, which makes him one of just four kickers in NFL history to attempt at least 15 playoff field goals and make them all (, Evan McPherson and are the others). The Steelers kicker was No. 2 on this list last year, but he's now down to sixth after an ugly 2022 season where he only hit 71.4% of his field goals. The reason he's still on this list, though, is because he has such an impre sive track record. In the three seasons from 2019 to 2022, Boswell hit 90% or more of his field goals each year, making him the ONLY kicker in the NFL to pull off that feat.Also, one reason Boswell struggled in 2022 was because he was dealing with a groin injury that forced him to mi s five games. If a kicker is dealing with a lower body injury, that usually means trouble for them, because it's almost impo sible to play through. A suming he's healthy in 2023, it won't be surprising to see him return to form.Despite his ugly year in 2022, Boswell still Jim Plunkett Jersey has a career field goal percentage of 86.3%, which makes him the 11th most accurate kicker in NFL history. Since taking over the Falcons starting job in 2019, Koo has been one of the best kickers in the NFL. In 2021, he was the third-most accurate kicker in the league with a field goal percentage of 93.9%. Although he wasn't as accurate in 2022 -- he hit 86.5% of his kickers last year (32 of 37) -- most of his mi ses came on difficult kicks.As a matter of fact, of Koo's five mi ses last season, four of them came on kicks of 50 yards or longer. On field goals from inside 50 yards, Koo went 25 of 26 (96.2%), giving him the second-highest percentage of any kicker in the NFL who attempted 25 field goals or more from that range (only Justin Tucker, who hit 96.6%, had a better percentage). Koo's accuracy showed down the stretch as he closed out the 2022 season by hitting 13 straight field goals.Koo also provided the decisive points in four of Atlanta's seven wins last season, including a Week 11 Carl Nassib Jersey victory over the where he hit a 53-yard field goal with under two minutes remaining. Yunghoe Koo puts the Falcons ahead with 1:47 left!: on FOX: Stream on NFL+ NFL (@NFL) Over the course of his career, Koo has hit 89.1% of his field goals, which makes him the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history behind only Tucker.When an NFL team finds a good kicker, they usually do whatever they can to keep him, but that's not the case with Gay. Although he's been one of the best kickers in the NFL over the past few years, the decided to let him walk in free agency in March, which is how he ended up in Indianapolis.The free agency move makes Gay the o
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Posted at 2023-12-28 09:24:05
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