NFL Draft: 49ers make Jake Moody highest drafted kicker since Roberto Aguayo in 2016
The San Francisco 49ers must really like Michigan kicker Jake Moody.
The 49ers didn't have a lot of high picks in this draft. They didn't pick in the first two rounds. Their three picks in the third round were 87th, 99th and 101st. They had to be smart with their choices.
Also, kickers don't go in the first three rounds. Since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Roberto Aguayo in the second round of the 2016 draft, no other team has drafted a kicker in the first three rounds. Aguayo was a massive mistake and no other team has attempted it since.
The 49ers took the kicker. He went in the third round with the 99th overall pick.
It's not that unusual to have a kicker drafted but it's usually on day three. Some of those picks, like Evan McPherson to the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, work out well. But taking one in the third round is rare. Before Aguayo, the last kicker to go in the top three rounds was Mike Nugent, a third-round pick in 2005.
The 49ers needed a new kicker after they parted ways with veteran Robbie Gould, who was a free agent and is still unsigned. Whether Moody was worth a third-round pick is debatable but he is a fantastic kicker. He hit 82.1 percent of his field-goal attempts over five seasons at Michigan. He hit all 148 extra point attempts. Moody was 52 of 60 on field goals his final two seasons.
It's just an odd pick. But the 49ers, who have Super Bowl dreams, don't want to worry about their season coming down to a shaky kicker. Hopefully, Moody will be worth what the 49ers paid to get him.
