'No More Misses!' Inside Philadelphia Eagles Secret Success of Kicker Jake Elliott

'No More Misses!' Inside Philadelphia Eagles Secret Success of Kicker Jake Elliott

PHILADELPHIA - Jake Elliott has been so consistent as the Philadelphia Eagles placekicker in recent seasons that it's hard to remember that the unflappable veteran, who is now alongside the brilliant Justin Tucker as the NFL's highest-paid kicker, has had the occasional bout with adversity.

As a rookie fifth-round pick by Cincinnati in 2017, Elliott lost out in training camp to veteran Randy Bullock before being plucked off the Bengals' practice squad by an Eagles' team trying to weather the storm of an injury to Caleb Sturgis.

Elliott didn't exactly hit the ground running with Philadelphia to the point the intimidating Jason Peters offered up some sage advice: “No more misses.”

The 5-foot-9. 167-pound Elliott, now 29, had his ears open and kicked off an incredible Eagles' run to a Super Bowl LII championship with a 61-yard game-winner against the New York Giants.

Since then Elliott has had so many big kicks, that most have lost count, including another 61-yarder against Minnesota last season and the boot that Elliott himself believes was his best, a 59-yarder that cut through the rain and wind in Buffalo that sent that game into overtime and ultimately ended in a Philadelphia win.

Since an uncharacteristically poor 2020 season in which Elliott had career lows in both field-goal (73.7) and extra-point percentage (92.3), the Memphis product has been lights out, making 80 of 88 field goals (90.9 percent), including 15 of 17 (88.2%) from 50-plus.

The rebound coincides with Michael Clay’s arrival as special teams coordinator and the emergence of special teams assistant Tyler Brown, the son of Tucker’s long-time kicking coach Randy Brown, as a sounding board.

“I think it's just nice to have someone that speaks the same lingo in terms of type of kicking mechanics,” Clay said when discussing Brown and his impact on Elliott back in 2021. “He's not going in there and trying to change everything Jake's doing.”

To Clay, having someone who understands the unique challenges a kicker in the NFL must go through is a valuable resource.

“Jake's got to this level by being a professional and being really good at his technique,” Clay said. “But they talk about it, you know, sight lines and stuff like that, where his plant foot, where he's finishing. Just stuff like that. So I think when guys are able to talk the same language, it kind of puts a calming reinforcement to what they're doing.”

Elliott himself brought up Brown after signing a four-year, $24 million extension earlier this month that matched Tucker’s average annual value atop the NFL's list of highest-paid kickers.

“I’ve just kind of kept my process,” Elliott said after inking his extension. “I really focus in on my fundamentals in the offseason. I think ever since Tyler Brown’s come in here with Coach Clay, he’s kind of honed in on some of that stuff with me and helped me develop a plan in the offseason.”

That plan is about managing the workload so Elliott is ready for up to 20 games while performing at the highest level.

“I give myself a little break and let my body recover and then kind of work myself back up,” Elliott said of his offseason. “Just striving to be more consistent every day. I feel good about my leg power, my strength, I feel good about all that. So how much more consistent can we get? And that’s my focus the last few years.”

The path to the plan was trial and error to see what worked best for Elliott’s body.

“I felt like maybe early on in my career, I was going out in the offseasons and just trying to hit big balls and I don’t know, those are fun to do obviously. And I kind of honed that back in and said, what’s really important here?" Elliott opined. "And that’s making kicks. So as much as I can do that, as good as I can get at that, the better.”

The last part of the equation for Elliott is his battery. Veteran Rick Lovato has been one of the most consistent long snappers for years and punter Braden Mann fit in seamlessly as the holder after taking over for Arryn Siposs in 2023. All three received extensions in the offseason.

“It’s crucial,” Elliott said when discussing the chemistry between the three specialists. “You see all over the league, the turnover in the specialist community. It’s hard to get an operation down, it’s hard to get consistency and have the chemistry we’ve built. As long as you can keep three guys together, the better."