Patriots Apparently Considering Drafting Another Kicker in 2024

The New England Patriots are in the process of overhauling all three phases of their 53-man roster this offseason under first-time head coach Jerod Mayo. 

Throughout the early portions of the offseason, the Pats’ offense has been under the spotlight as they have the No. 3 overall pick in next month’s NFL draft. However, fans should keep an eye out for the special teams unit, which was average at best in 2023.

Last season, New England rolled with a rookie kicker in Chad Ryland, who they drafted in the fourth round in the 2023 NFL Draft. The 24-year-old Ryland struggled in his first season as an NFL kicker, only converting 64 percent of his field goals (25 attempts).

The former University of Maryland kicker was solid between 20-39 yards but wasn’t reliable from 40-49 yards (5/10 FGs). With that in mind, the Patriots are doing their due diligence on the kickers in this year’s draft class.

Ben Belford-Peltzman reported on Thursday that Patriots special teams assistant Tom Quinn is expected to be in attendance at Stanford’s Pro Day, which features kicker Joshua Karty.

Karty is coming off a solid senior campaign at Stanford, where he made 85.2 percent of his field goals (27 attempts) and 100 percent of his extra points (21 attempts). Karty has made 85 percent (51-of-60) of his field goals at Stanford.

In an interesting twist, Karty was a better kicker than Ryland, who made 77.3 percent of his field goals over his five-year collegiate career at Eastern Michigan and Maryland. Patriots fans might not want the team to draft another kicker, but it’s clear that they are looking to make a potential upgrade.

More Patriots news and analysis: