I see that Kai Forbath was miffed, apparently, when the Vikings selected Daniel Carlson in the fifth round. Likely worried he might lose his job, Forbath hung up when asked to comment on the pick.
“Kai Forbath might not be too happy about the Vikings taking a kicker in the fifth round. When I called him for his reaction, he apparently hung up,” tweeted Chris Tomasson, writer for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
I get it. Joe Flacco did the same thing in Baltimore, when asked to react to the choice of Lamar Jackson. But competition is a way of life in the NFL.
In the case of Forbath, he need not worry too much. If he shows up at camp and performs like he’s supposed to, he should have another season in him – in Minnesota or elsewhere.
Forbath has played reasonably well the last two years, converting 89 percent of his field goals, 8th-best among regular kickers. He went 6 of 9 last year on kicks from 50-plus. On the downside, he has been good enough on extra points, converting a league-worst 85 percent over the last two seasons.
Forbath hasn’t played well enough to deserve a free pass at camp. He hasn’t been reliable enough to deserve to be offended that another kicker will be at training camp.
He also needs to keep in mind that just because Minnesota drafted Carlson, that doesn’t mean a change is necessarily being made. That will be determined at camp.
Based on how the guys have performed in recent years, Forbath might reasonably be considered the favorite. Over the past three years at Auburn, Carson converted 82 percent of his field goals; Forbath in those same three years has hit 84 percent. Carson has gone 12 of 20 on kicks from 50-plus (60 percent). Forbath has gone 9 of 13 (69 percent).
Picking through past drafts, it’s apparent that a being picked in the fifth round isn’t a guarantee of winning a job. Of the last 22 kickers chosen in the fourth, fifth or sixth round, only 10 went on to start 16 games that year. Four others became NFL kickers, but later in their careers. That includes Jake Elliott, who was cut by the Bengals last summer (he failed to beat out their Forbath guy – Randy Bullock) but landed with Philadelphia.
Two others landed jobs on opening day but didn’t last (Justin Medlock lasted only one game, while Bill Gramatica went for 13 games).
Forbath need not stick his lip out. He should be fine-tuning his form on extra points.
| KICKERS CHOSEN IN 4TH-6TH ROUNDS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Rd | Kicker | School |
| 2000 | 6 | Paul Edinger, Chi. | Michigan State |
| 2000 | 6 | Neil Rackers, Cin. | Illinois |
| 2001 | 4 | • Bill Gramatica, Ariz. | South Florida |
| 2001 | 5 | John Markham, NYG | Vanderbilt |
| 2002 | 4 | Jeff Chandler, S.F. | Florida |
| 2002 | 4 | Travis Dorsch, Cin. | Purdue |
| 2004 | 5 | Josh Scobee, Jac. | Louisiana Tech |
| 2005 | 6 | Dave Rayner, Ind. | Michigan State |
| 2006 | 4 | Stephen Gostkowski, N.E. | Memphis |
| 2006 | 6 | Kurt Smith, S.D. | Virginia |
| 2007 | 6 | Nick Folk, Dall. | Arizona |
| 2007 | 6 | Mason Crosby, G.B. | Colorado |
| 2007 | 5 | Justin Medlock, K.C. | UCLA |
| 2008 | 6 | Taylor Mehlhaff, N.O. | Wisconsin |
| 2009 | 5 | David Buehler, Dall. | Southern Cal |
| 2011 | 4 | Alex Henery, Phil. | Nebraska |
| 2012 | 6 | Greg Zuerlein, St.L. | Missouri Western |
| 2012 | 6 | Blair Walsh, Minn. | Georgia |
| 2012 | 5 | • Randy Bullock, Hou. | Texas A&M |
| 2013 | 5 | Caleb Sturgis , Mia. | Florida |
| 2013 | 6 | • Dustin Hopkins , Buff. | Florida State |
| 2017 | 5 | • Jake Elliott, Cin. | Memphis |
| 2018 | 5 | DANIEL CARLSON, Minn. | Auburn |
—Ian Allan