Kicker Cody Parkey was excellent for the Phins in 2017… but he’s gone now
A kicker missing a couple of field goals can destroy a whole season
The Dolphins have had a major turnover in their roster this offseason. One move that’s gone under the radar was the loss of kicker Cody Parkey. Dolphins reported a tryout with K Blair Walsh Monday… but that’s scouring the bottom of the barrel. Sometimes though you find nice things at the bottom…but most of the time you just find…
Parkey was one of the few bright spots for the Dolphins last season. In 2017 he went 21 out of 23 on field goals with a long of 54 and a field goal percentage of 91.3. This was the best for any Dolphins kicker in any single season. However, the Chicago Bears signed Parkey to a 4 year $15 million dollar contract. Miami couldn’t even come close to matching that price tag.
So now there’s a hole in a crucial spot on the roster. Don’t sleep on the value of a kicker. Yeah, they are ‘only kickers’… but when they miss a game-winning kick because they suck, that tune changes fast. Parkey in 2017 made you sure appreciate having a good one.
Finding a kicker is easy… getting a special one isn’t
Sure, we can find someone during the preseason as teams begin cutting players in order to get to the mandated 53 man roster limit. It’s how we stumbled upon Parkey. This time though luck might not be on Miami’s side. Of course, there’s always the draft, but picks are valuable. Is it worth expending a valuable commodity? It is if you want to be on the winning side of those game-winning kicks.
The best bookie website software is predicting that this draft has more kicker talent than seen in the last decade. There are two kickers specifically that are worthy of drafting late: Daniel Carlson from Auburn and Eddy Pineiro from Florida. Both should be on the Dolphins radar.
Carlson went 23 out of 31 last season and 4 of his 7 misses came from over 50 yards, but he did convert from a long of 54 twice. The year before he went 28 out of 32 and converted 4 field goals from over 50 yards.
In comparison, Pineiro went 17 out of 18 last season with a long from 50 yards. He has a video on Youtube with him making a 77-yard field goal. For obvious reasons, it went viral. The year he went 21 out of 25 on field goal attempts and connected on two field goals from 54 yards out.
Darren Rizzi has done a pretty good job with his kickers
Both players definitely have the leg to be an NFL kicker. They should be seriously considered with our 6th or 7th round draft pick if they make it that far. Some analysts are predicting that they could be selected as early as the 4th round. The best teams win close games and a good kicker is a major asset in winning a tight contest. Maybe the Phins have a plan in place? Maybe they will pull a rabbit out of the hat like they did with Parkey. This move won’t likley be met with much fanfare either way… until that big kick is made… or missed. What are the rest of the Miami Dolphins News fans thoughts about drafting one of these two young kickers?