It's not every year that a kicker is drafted in the NFL Draft, and it's certainly rare for a kicker to be drafted in the second or third round, which is when many expect Roberto Aguayo to hear his name called late in April. Aguayo is a Lou Groza Award winning, three-time All American out of Florida State. Should the Bengals consider him as a replacement for Mike Nugent? Let's take a look at what the kicker has to offer.
Roberto Aguayo
Ht: 6’0"
Wt: 207 lbs
Class: Junior
NFL comparisons:
- Graham Gano (walterfootball)
- Matt Stover (nfl)
College Stats:
Important Notes:
- First three time All American at Florida State since Deion Sanders
- First underclassman kicker to enter the draft since fellow former Florida State Seminole Sebastian Janikowski, who was drafted in the first round of the 2000 draft.
Scouting Report Consensus - What to like:
- Flawless fundamentals resulting in great accuracy
- Perfect on all 198 extra point attempts in his college career
- Perfect on all field goal attempts inside of 40 yards, going 49 for 49
- Most accurate kicker in NCAA history on all kicks, going 267 of 276 for 96.7%
- Kickoff distance has improved each year with a good hang time
Scouting Report Consensus - What to not like:
- Average leg strength which is evident on kickoffs and field goal attempts
- 11 kickoffs went out of bounds
- Career long field goal only 53 yards, missed at longer 54 and 56 distances
- His overall field goal accuracy has dropped each season from 95.5% to 90% to 80.8%
- Only attempted six career field goals of 50+ due to mediocre leg strength
Projected Round:
Round 2-4
Aguayo should be the highest drafted kicker since Mike Nugent went in the second round, 47th overall, in the 2005 NFL draft.
Conclusion:
Aguayo has been perfect on every single college kick inside of 40 yards, going an amazing 247 for 247 on such attempts, boosted by almost 200 extra point attempts. Beyond 40 yards, his accuracy is only 69%, which would be slightly below average by NFL standards. By comparison, during his time with the Bengals, Mike Nugent has hit on 97% of his kicks inside of 40 yards, including extra points, and has made 72% of his kicks from beyond 40 yards. So Nugent’s accuracy pretty much mirrors Aguayo’s when looking at kicks inside of 40 vs outside of 40.
I don’t see Aguayo being selected by the Bengals since it may take a second or third round pick, which seems quite high for a kicker who lacks a booming leg, and hasn’t shown much ability to hit long field goals. Aguayo should be a solid NFL kicker, but his inconsistency beyond 40 yards, and inability to reach distances into the 50’s will limit his effectiveness, and make selecting him early in the draft something of a reach.
His best fit would be with a team like Denver with high altitude to boost his limited range, or a team with a great offense that needs a kicker who they can rely on for countless extra points and chip shots when their long drives stall in the red zone.