Top Specialists (Kickers/Punters) - 2026 NFL Draft Preseason Watch List

John B. Everett
Aug 21
3 min read

Updated: Aug 26

It is a very rare occurrence that a kicker gets drafted before the third day of the NFL Draft – the last kicker to get drafted on the second day of the draft was Michigan kicker Jake Moody who went to the 49ers with pick #99 in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. No kicker or punter is projected to earn a Top 100 grade next spring although there may be as many as five specialists who earn a draftable grade for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Top of the Class

1. Dominic Zvada / K / Michigan

Zvada, a transfer from Arkansas State, enters the 2026 college football season as the most likely specialist to hear his name called the last weekend of April. Zvada has an explosive leg with an effective range of near 60-yards and combines that power with great accuracy. Zvada made 21 of 22 kicks, including all seven FG attempts of over 50 yards last season while making 26 of 27 XPs last year. Zvada has a career long of 56 yards made against Indiana last season. Zvada could earn a mid-round grade for the 2026 NFL Draft with another great season in Ann Arbor.

2. Ryan Eckley / P / Michigan State

Eckley will be the punter for the Spartans for the third consecutive season and has averaged 47.2 yards per punt with a net average of 42 yards per punt in his career. He possesses both a powerful leg but also great touch and placement on pooch punts and pinned six punts inside the 20-yard line last season. Eckley gets great hang time on his punts and has NFL-level punt placement and control. Eckley could earn a sixth or seventh round grade next April.

3. Brett Thorson / P / Georgia

Thorson is the next great Australian punting prospect that will be entering the NFL and possesses a fantastic leg along with three years of experience entering this season in Athens. Thorson averaged 47.6 yards per punt with a net average of 44.1 yards per punt last season but suffered a season-ending injury to his non-kicking leg in the SEC Championship game last December. How he bounces back this fall will impact his draft status next spring.

Other Names to Monitor:

· Collin Rogers / K / SMU.

Rogers is coming off a great season in Dallas when he nailed seven of eleven FG attempts from beyond 50 yards (with a long of 55-yards). But he needs to improve his overall accuracy as he made only 72.7% of his attempts last year (24 of 33), while only hitting four of six FG attempts between 20 and 29 yards last season.

· Jack Bouwmeester / P / Texas.

A transfer from Utah, Bouwmeester has been brought to Austin to give the Longhorns an advantage in the field position game. The Australian punter averaged 44.7 per punt (gross), with a net average of 40.4 yards per punt last year, with 23 punts downed inside the 20-yard line for the Utes

· Brock Taylor / K / Vanderbilt.

Taylor only has one year of college kicking experience but demonstrated a strong and accurate leg last season in Nashville. Taylor made 18 of 27 FGs including five of six from over 50 yards. Taylor has a career long of 57 yards.

· Trey Smack / K / Florida. Smack has been a consistent and productive kicker for the last two years in Gainesville making 35 of 42 career FGs including five of seven from 50+ yards. Smack has a career long of 55 yards made last year against LSU.

· Will Ferrin / K / BYU. Ferrin is coming off a break through season in Provo where he converted 24 of 27 FG attempts last year including making four of five from over 50 yards. Ferrin’s career long is 54 yards made against Colorado in the Alamo Bowl last year.

SNS

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