Cade York: What the Browns are getting in their 4th round K

The Cleveland Browns did not have a first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft and despite many fans clamoring for them to trade back in to snag a star, Cleveland made the decision to create no chaos on the first day.

On the second day, Browns fans grew even angrier, because the franchise elected to trade back from their first draft selection, but once they did make a selection they made some noise.

We already covered what the Browns are getting in Martin Emerson, Alex Wright, David Bell and Perrion Winfrey and now we move on to their next selection. With the 124th selection in the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected Cade York, kicker from LSU.

Now let’s see what he can do:

Strengths

Name: Cade York

Position: Kicker

School: LSU

Height: 6’1″ 

Weight: 206 pounds

Cade York was the number one rated kicker by most recruiting services for the class of 2019 and was listed as a three-star recruit, which is high for any kicker. The Texas native committed to LSU and quickly shined, earning All-SEC honors three years in a row and All-American honors for one season. York even declared for the NFL Draft with eligibility remaining, which is odd for a kicker.

York was a pillar of consistency in Baton Rouge making 164 of his 168 PAT attempts, which is a strong conversion percentage of 97.6%. It should also be noted that he was perfect on PATs the last two seasons. Last season, York made 15 of his 18 field goal attempts with a long of 56 yards, and the year prior he hit a career-long of 57 yards.

I am not an expert at scouting kickers by any means and this position relies so much on the mental aspect, which is such a challenging trait to judge, but York came into LSU with an insane amount of hype and exceeded those expectations from day one. Those experiences as a highly touted recruit, starting immediately should help him make the mental transition to the NFL.

Another important trait for kickers is the ability to handle pressure and it appears York is used to it as he has made 22 of his 26 field goal attempts on the road during his LSU career. Another proof of his ability to handle pressure was that his career-long was the game-winner against a sixth-ranked Florida squad. Obviously, the most eye-opening kicker trait is leg strength and York managed to make 15 of his 19 field goal attempts of 50 or more yards.

Weaknesses

Like with any kicker moving up to any level, you have to have concerns about how they can transition mentally and above I expressed that I believe York can be a special kicker, but it needs to be noted that he was less than ideal starting out his LSU career as he only made five of his first ten kicks and the Browns have shown very little patience in the kicker department in years past.

Potential Fit

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t think anyone would classify drafting Cade York in the fourth round as a steal and I was a tad puzzled by the selection, but he has the potential to be the long-term answer at a position that has been a major issue for a few seasons. The expectation is that York will be the starting kicker in Cleveland for 15 years and this is fair given the draft stock invested. There is no reason he can’t be a consistent and reliable option for more than a decade.

1

1