Storyline: A kicker?! Yes, a kicker. Tampa Bay Bucs drafted a kicker, Roberto Aguayo, high in the NFL Draft, too.
Kickers? Yes, Kickers are people, too. The Bucs proved that in the 2016 NFL Draft.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded back into the 2nd Round of the draft on Friday night and selected kicker Roberto Aguayo from Florida State. This certainly shocked some people. Kickers are taken typically in the lower rounds or go undrafted, but the Bucs had solid reasoning for drafting this booter.
Coutesty: Seminole.com
One reason is history. Back in 2003 the Oakland Raiders took Sebastian Jankowski in the 1st Round. Janikowski, who also hails from Florida State, went on to become one of the greatest kickers in NFL history. Roberto Aguayo is arguably the best kicker in college football history. According to seminole.com Aguayo converted on 88.4% of his kicks and made all of his extra points.
Martin Gramática (photo, alchetron.com)
The NFL recently moved the extra point back to 15-yard line, which could be one of the reasons why Aguayo’s value increased. Kickers drafted high usually have a high success rate in the League. In addition to Jankowski, the Bucs drafted Martín Gramática in the 3rd Round in 1999. He worked out great for them. And, back in 2005, the Jets took Mike Nugent, also in the 3rd Round. Nugent is still in the NFL today.
Bottom line: If Aguayo produces as other early-round kickers have done, the Bucs will have scored big, justifying this early selection.
