The kicker battle for the New Orleans Saints is heating up. training camp has raised the pressure on Blake Grupe.
First-year international boot Charlie Smyth has been impressive at times, and he clearly has a big leg. He’s made a handful of 60+-yarders during practice. Now, he is shown that before the team’s first preseason matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
Saints rookie kicker Charlie Smyth hits 66-yard field goal
The rookie kicker hit a long kick before the first preseason game. That’s an impressive make, regardless of a defense included or not.
From the @officialgaa to the NFL 🏉🏈
Charlie Smyth has arrived for the beginning of the @Saints preseason! 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/6reE3i7uxg
— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) August 10, 2024
That being said, Underhill noted that Smyth also missed some other long kicks leading up to that chance. He needs to find more consistency, but not many kickers do that from that sort of distance. It was an impressive feat for the first-year professional boot, anyway.
He had a missed a few from 61 before that. Consistency is going to be the key for Smyth. He also has to prove he can kick in a game. https://t.co/ecx3tbceg4
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) August 10, 2024
The preseason will be a massive piece to the puzzle for the kicking game in New Orleans.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen stirred the pot this past week regarding the position battle at starting kicker. No one has taken a clear lead for the job. It is still an open competition. In-game reps during the preseason may make the difference.
Allen basically challenged both Blake Grupe and Charlie Smyth after practice on Monday. Allen noted that he does not think that the Saints kicker competition has been settled yet. Clearly, there’s plenty more for both players to prove.
We will see how it shakes out for the Saints. Grupe had some impressive moments last year, and he found more consistency in the second half of the year.
That being said, new Orleans has not been afraid to move on from a kicker if another option becomes available that they prefer. Last year was an example of that when Grupe took Wil Lutz’ job for the black and gold.
Now, Grupe is fighting off a young player that is vying to do that same.
