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The 2023 NFL Draft marked the highest kicker since 2016, when Michigan’s Jake Moody was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the No. 99 overall pick. Moody is only the sixth kicker since 2000 to be selected in the top 100.
Some Niners fans weren’t happy about taking a kicker so early, but general manager John Lynch said it was their only chance to get Moody. Kickers don’t have the flashiest position and as a result drafting a position with a high quality pick can cause skepticism.
Lynch said that Moody would not be available to them later on and that the team wanted to sign a player they believe can make a difference in the future.
“I can tell you since then a lot of teams called and said, you know, shortly after that they went there,” Lynch said (via KNBR’s Murphy & Mac shows). “And basically teams were trying to trade to come for us. So something we feel really good about. Time will tell, as with all these guys. But we think he really has a cornerstone, starting player for us for years to come, and we’re proud to have him with us.”
The Niners had three picks in the third round, No. 87, No. 99, and No. 101. With the No. 87 pick, they drew safety Ji’ayir Brown from Penn State and selected Cameron Latu from Alabama with the No. 101 Since they had three third-rounders to use, Lynch and Co thought. that they could use one on a kicker.
“We call it a third-round pick,” Lynch said. “Really a (compensating) three, which we kind of see as picks in the fourth round. And we felt like that was really good value,” Lynch commented. “We had three. I think that gave us a bit of a luxury to get away with two players that we coveted on positions, attack and defence, and then add a kicker. It was a luxury that we had that maybe everybody did not have.”
Moody was the first of three kickers selected in the draft and was one of the top kicking prospects heading into the weekend. He was the FBS leader in field goals in 2022 with 29 and finished his college career with an 82.1 field goal percentage and 355 points, the most in school history.
The 49ers had Robbie Gold lined up for kicks from 2017 to 2022 and saw the value a Pro-Bowl and All-Pro kicker can add to a team. Lynch hopes that Moody can be the next Gould-type player for them and discussed how valuable a kicker can be.
“I think you know when you take a kicker like that, believe me, we weren’t cartwheeling about it,” Lynch said. “I think we’ll cartwheel if he’s the guy we think he is because kickers are very important. They score a lot of points. They finish a lot of drives.”
The GM went on to say, “I think this guy will give us an opportunity to expand where we’ve been able to pedal from. I think we’ll be able to kick the Over-55s now. I’m thinking of the kickoff, this is a guy who can put them in the end zone when needed, kick them out of the end zone. We can hang it there. I think he gives us the opportunity to do a lot of things.”
The Niners also have kicker Zane Gonzalez on the team, following an off-season trade.
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