Las Vegas Raiders Position by Position Analysis: Kickers

Finding a reliable kicker in today's' NFL isn't fun at all. We have seen teams struggle on special teams, losing close games by missing field goals and losing by one. With the pressure of the game on the line, some kickers tend to break down and lose confidence. Along with inconsistencies, injuries have depleted teams during the season.

Whoever says kickers aren't important, they are wrong.

An underrated position, the kicker, is there when needed, highly praised when they score and win the game but scrutinized when they don't. Kickers are as valuable as any player on the team, even more at critical times. They are there to earn three points whenever the offense is stopped from scoring a touchdown, and at times they are depended to win the game with a last-second field goal.

Luckily for Raider Nation, the team does not need to panic, not quite yet. The special teams unit returns all three key position starters from a year ago and adds a few additions to help push them during the off-season.

We take a closer look at the kicking unit. Starting kicker Daniel Carlson returns for the third year with the Raiders, after re-signing with the Raiders last April. Once waived by the Minnesota Vikings for his inconsistency, he went out to have a spectacular year with the Raiders in 2018, when he hit 94 percent of his field goals, a Raiders franchise record.

In 2019, many will see that he might have taken a step back and averaged in the bottom of the league among starting kickers.

"We are going to see this kid kick himself out of it," Raiders Coach Jon Gruden said. "This is a great kid, he's got a great amount of talent."

Carlson finished the season making 19-of-26 field goal attempts, 73 percent, ranked No. 28 among kickers in the NFL. He scored with a 48- yarder on week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers, his longest field goal of the season. He went a perfect 8-for-8 between 20 and 29 yards, 5-for-6 between 30 and39 yards, 6-for-10 from 40-49 yards, and 0-for-2 on kicks over 50 yards.

His potential seems to go in the right direction. Coach Gruden has the confidence in him and Raider Nation hoping he can be the next Sebastian Janikowski, who held the realm down for 17 seasons as a Raider.

During the off-season, Raiders added another kicker to challenge Carlson, rookie Dominik Eberle out of Utah State. Eberle became Utah State's all-time scoring leader, was perfect on 167 extra points throughout his career and earned All-Mountain West First Team honors.

This off-season looks excellent for the Raiders with Carlson as a starter. Eberle, an undrafted free agent, can potentially make some noise and crack a spot in the practice squad or another team.

Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

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