Placekicker will be one of the most important and intriguing position battles to watch for when the New York Giants open training camp.
Special teams are often overlooked when it comes to position battles, but as any coach will tell you, special teams is a vital function as it pertains to a team’s success.
No position on special teams is as important as special teams and as Bill Parcells once famously said, “Never take the foot out of football.”
After all, many games are decided by which teams special teams unit outperforms the other. Last season the Giants special teams were abysmal particularly their kicking game.
Last season, Aldrick Rosas struggled mightily throughout his first season kicking in the NFL. He converted 18 out of 25 field goal attempts, and missed three extra points, and suffered through a stretch during the season where he missed a field goal or extra point in five consecutive games.
He missed a crucial 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter in the Giants 25-23 loss to the Buccaneers in Week 4.
The Giants are hopeful with a year under his belt that Rosas will have more confidence and will be more accurate this season. But in January, the Giants brought in some competition for Rosas when they signed Marshall Koehn.
Koehn went undrafted in the 2016 draft coming out of the University of Iowa, but was signed by the Dolphins in May before they released him in August. The Vikings signed him in January 2017 but released him prior to the start of the season.
He was signed by the Bengals in November last season and did convert on an extra point in the Bengals 23-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9 before they released him later in the month.
Now he’s hoping to win the kicking battle and finally stick with an NFL team.
On the first day of minicamp back in June, Rosas connected on all eight of his field goal attempts. The following day, Koehn connected on seven out of eight of his field goal attempts.
The Giants are tied for having the eighth toughest schedule and will probably be in several close games that could come down to a kick.
This is why placekicker will be one of the most intriguing and important position battles to watch for in training camp and the preseason.