Chicago Bears draft prospects: Roberto Aguayo

The Chicago Bears will have a need at kicker. Why not go after Roberto Aguayo, college football’s most accurate kicker of all time?

The Chicago Bears have made some big, tough decisions. They informed Matt Forte they would not re-sign him, and they released offensive lineman Jermon Bushrod.

Another decision they have to make is on Robbie Gould.

Gould is scheduled to make $4 million in 2016. That is a lot of money for a kicker who is on the downside of his career, and one who cost the Chicago Bears several games with missed field goals.

The Chicago Bears are adding money to their chest to try to rebuild the team. With their cuts, they have over $60 million available at the moment.

Cutting Gould, the Bears save another $2.9 million.

Ryan Pace and company can go the free agent route to find a Gould replacement, but they can also go through the draft.

I know that a lot of teams are wary of drafting a kicker since they struggle right out the gate, while with the older kickers you know what you have (as long as they aren’t hitting their downside).

If the Chicago Bears go through the draft, the only one I think they should consider is Florida State’s Roberto Aguayo.

Aguayo is a rare commodity. He is the best special teams player in the draft. So good, in fact, that he is coming out as a junior. You almost never see that from a kicker.

Aguayo is the most accurate kicker in NCAA history. He connected on 96.7 percent of his career kicks. That includes all 198 of his extra point attempts.

Aguayo hit 71.4 percent of his field goal attempts from beyond fifty yards. Inside of forty yards, he was nearly automatic.

With the new extra point rule making the kick longer, there were some games that were affected by missed extra points. Seeing how accurate Aguayo is, he will be highly attractive to teams.

The Chicago Bears should be one of those teams.

Aguayo is so good at his craft that he is expected to be drafted in the second or third round. I still think teams will be wary of taking a kicker so soon, but he would not be the first to be drafted that high. In 2005, Mike Nugent was the last kicker to be drafted in the top 100.

Aguayo not only helps with field goals, he also helps on kickoffs.

Another one of Gould’s troubles in 2015 was his short kickoffs and low hang-time. That allowed kick returners to take the ball out and get going before the kickoff team got there.

Gould ranked just 19th in number of touchbacks, and returners ran two of his kickoffs for touchdowns. Only five other kickers had even one.

Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher was effusive in his praise of Aguayo.

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“I’m very happy for Roberto and his family,” Fisher said in a statement. “He was phenomenal for us here at Florida State. He’s arguably one of the best kickers not only in Florida State history, but in NCAA history. I wish him nothing but the best. He was a great player, but also a great leader for our team and a great ambassador for our university. We’re very excited for him and we will look forward to watching him compete in the NFL for years to come.”

The Chicago Bears are also looking for high character players, and Aguayo fits that bill as well. He was well-respected in the locker room (also rare), and he was actively involved in community service.

Next: Chicago Bears Cut Jermon Bushrod

The Chicago Bears will bid Robbie Gould farewell. Drafting Roberto Aguayo can be their best possible route to help their kicking game.

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