Vikings’ Kicker Nightmare Might Finally Be Over
Wide left. Wide right. Blocked. Whatever the problem could be to end things in devastating fashion during Minnesota Vikings history, kickers have found a way to do it. Gary Anderson, Blair Walsh, Daniel Carlson, and a litany of others have all struggled to come through in the most significant moments.
Minnesota’s kicking issues have lingered for more than a decade, but recent results point to a level of reliability the Vikings simply haven’t enjoyed in years.
Kickers are good when they do their job, and the worst when they are incapable of doing it consistently. Instead of continuing to recycle veterans, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah decided that Will Reichard was worth a draft pick, not even a seventh-round throwaway. The Alabama product was a priority for Minnesota, and he continues to vindicate them every week.
Will Reichard Is Doing What Vikings Kickers Rarely Do
Sunday, facing the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota brandished its weapon against the opposition. Brandon Aubrey is widely regarded as among the best kickers in the league. He hit a 65-yarder last season and had made over 90% of his kicks during his three-year career. On Sunday night, though, it was the Will Reichard show.
Both of Aubrey’s kicks from 50+ missed the mark. Losing by eight points, those outcomes substantially shifted the game. Meanwhile, Reichard was a perfect 4-for-4, including a kick from 53 yards out.
The former Crimson Tide kicker missed a bit of time as a rookie due to injury. That also lined up with being representative of a slight slide that knocked his yearly average down to 80%. This season, Reichard has come through on 92.3% of his kicks, including an impressive 9-of-11 from 50-plus. Those are the only two misses on the year, and he still is carrying a perfect 65-of-65 career tally on extra points.
Of course, the ideal path to targeting talent would be for nothing ever to go wrong. That’s certainly not a logical outcome, and even the best players are going to fall short at times. However, for as hard as kicking woes have hit the Minnesota Vikings during their last few decades, it appears Reichard could be a dude for quite some time.
When the put-away kick went through the uprights on Sunday night, Reichard let out a level of emotion rarely seen from the position. Not only should he be a Pro Bowl player for the first time in his career, but it’s possible he winds up being the best player at his position over the next decade.
That’s a fun reality for the Vikings to think about.
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