Former Georgia Football, K, Rodrigo Blankenship Worthy of NFL Draft Pick

There have been thirty-five specialist worthy of an NFL Draft pick over the past 10 NFL Drafts. And with the changes to the NFL PAT structure, reliable Place Kickers have become increasingly more valuable.

Three of the last four NFL Drafts have featured that year's Lou Groza Award Winner. Roberto Aguayo in the second round of the 2016 draft, Zane Gonzalez the following year, and Matt Gay from Utah in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Well, there are several reasons to believe that former Georgia placekicker and 2019 Lou Groza Award Winner, Rodrigo Blankenship certainly has a draft worthy resumé

He's tied for 12th in NCAA history with 80 career field goals made on a Georgia football record 82.5%. Game clinching field goals, scholarship earning leadership, and a constant assurance in the redzone. Oh, and of course he never missed a PAT. Not one.

The Draft Network's Senior NFL Draft Analyst, Jordan Reid has made the case for "Hot Rod" to be selected in this April's NFL Draft:

"Blankenship finished his career as Georgia’s all-time leading scorer and won the 2019 Lou Groza Award, given to the nation’s top placekicker. He became the first Georgia kicker to ever win the award. Blankenship also broke the SEC record with 198 consecutive extra points scored." Jordan Reid

At the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, he nailed a 55-yard field goal. Though he's not known for the Kevin Butler, 60-yard bomber of a leg, Blankenship has proven to be deadly accurate from within 50-yards. You'll rarely have to worry about him missing a 35-yard extra point. That type of dependability has been valued through NFL Draft capital since the league pushed back the PATs at the beginning of the 2015 season. Heck, the following year in 2016, the Tampa Bay Bucs rook Roberto Aguayo with the 59th overall selection in the second round.

They don't always pan out and they are often criticized. For some reason, everyone scoffs at the first team to jump and draft a specialist in the NFL draft. Sure, there's some Roberto Aguayo misses, but there's also a Harrison Butker or Greg Zuerlein that stabilizes a position for the foreseeable future.

That's what Rodrigo Blankenship was at Georgia. The model of consistency. Every field goal attempt, post-game interview, or practice, he was the same guy with the same smile and genuine goodness about him. He will always be a Beloved Bulldog. If you've had the privilege of partaking in a Saturday in Athens over the past four seasons you recognize, and will forever remember, the roar from those draped in Red & Black when Rodrigo Blankenship's name was announced in the starting lineup. Once Hot Rod took over the job following the third game of his redshirt freshman season, it was over.

Whether it was doing the interviews with his helmet and Specs on following a game-winner against Kentucky in 2016, or the scholarship moment in the locker room — "Hey Rod, tell 'em what I told you on Friday" — following the win over Notre Dame in 2017.

How do you make a great night even better? Here's how.
Congratulations, Rod.#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/SnUgkngNJj
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) September 10, 2017

Lord knows you can't forget the 55-yard field goal as time expired in the first half of the Rose Bowl. During times of doubt and desperation within Georgia's redzone offense over the years, a "Thank God we've got Rodrigo" has been said countless times even from Kirby Smart himself.

And he's not just an accurate field goal kicker, he rarely allows a return on kickoffs as well. That's something that former Bulldog Kevin Butler has helped him with during his time at Georgia. Telling the New York Post, "He's come along way, he lost the job to another kicker, William Ham, during training camp [in 2016] because he was inconsistent. And after the third game, William went into the tank and Rod went out there and he just started to mature."

So, an accurate kicker with enough power to send touchbacks into the back of the endzone and as level headed mentally as they come. It sounds like an NFL draft worthy talent to me.

According to FanDuel, Rodrigo is the favorite to be drafted first at (-175). All other specialists have plus odds.

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