Despite re-signing Kai Forbath this offseason, the Minnesota Vikings could end up using a late-round selection on a kicker at the 2018 NFL Draft.
With less than two minutes to go in their Divisional Round playoff matchup against the New Orleans Saints last season, the Minnesota Vikings called upon kicker Kai Forbath to try and give them a lead with 53-yard field goal.
Somehow, Forbath was able to block out the deafening noise of past Vikings kicking failures and nail the field goal attempt to give the team a two point lead. Minnesota ended up defeating the Saints that day due to the “Minneapolis Miracle”, but their kicker certainly had something to do with that victory as well.
Forbath’s performance against New Orleans is one of the reasons why the Vikings decided to re-sign the kicker back in March. However, Minnesota only signed him to a one-year deal worth less than $1 million, so there’s no guarantee that he will be the team’s kicker when they open the regular season in September.
It’s fair for the Vikings to approach their kicking situation this way. Even though Forbath performed well in Minnesota’s playoff win over the Saints, the kicker struggled at times during the regular season in 2017.
Minnesota Vikings
In 16 games last year, Forbath missed six of his 38 field goal attempts and five of his 39 extra point attempts. Of every NFL kicker to attempt at least 40 extra points in the last two seasons, Forbath’s eight misses are tied for the most in the league.
Missing an extra point may sound silly to some since it is just one point. But in a league where one point can easily make the difference in a matchup, Forbath’s inconsistencies are definitely a big deal.
With this being said, is it possible that the Vikings could use of their selections in the upcoming NFL Draft on a kicker?
If Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman wasn’t scarred too much from the team drafting Blair Walsh in 2012, then a kicker may actually be in the Vikings’ draft plans this year. Then again, it’s also possible that Minnesota could wait until after the draft and sign an undrafted free-agent kicker to compete with Forbath in training camp.
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If anything, just know that the chances are pretty high that Forbath will not be the only player competing to be the Vikings’ starting kicker during the team’s training camp this summer.