Chicago Bears Daily 2017 NFL Draft Prospect: Arizona State Kicker Zane Gonzalez
A look at possible Chicago Bears’ 2017 NFL Draft target, Arizona State kicker Zane Gonzalez.
The Chicago Bears have many needs on their roster. Honestly, the kicker position is probably not high on their priority. That being said, we have seen what good kickers can do for NFL teams. If the opportunity arises, the Bears would be wise to at least partially invest in the position.
Zane Gonzalez is the top kicker in the 2017 NFL Draft class. He won the Lou Groza Award in 2016 for the best kicker in all of college football. Last season, Gonzalez hit 23 of 25 field goals for the Sun Devils and went 39 of 40 on extra points. He also holds the record for most career fields goals and points scored in FBS history.
Gonzalez has a big leg and is an absolute weapon on special teams. He is an impact player who could easily go under-valued in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Last year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded up in the second round to take Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo. It was an odd move that did not really make any sense at the time. However, it only got worse when Aguayo struggled mightily to start the season. That was an awful pick by the Buccaneers.
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Gonzalez is great, but I imagine that the Aguayo mess will have teams thinking twice about spending a valuable pick on a kicker. Could this allow Gonzalez to slip to the late rounds in the draft? It is certainly possible, if not likely.
Connor Barth was the Bears’ kicker for most of last season. Barth was decent, but he is a free agent this off season and he is not a long-term option. I would not hate to see the Chicago Bears look for some long-term kicker stability. Gonzalez is one of the best kickers in college football history and would undoubtedly bring that stability.
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I do not think Gonzalez would be worth the Bears’ fifth-round pick. However, if he is still there when they go on the clock at the beginning of the seventh-round, they should pull the trigger. He is only a kicker, but Zane Gonzalez is an extremely good one.