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A Lou Groza Award semifinalist and second team All-American, Jaden Oberkrom was a reliable kicker for four years at Texas Christian University. As a senior, Oberkrom converted 21 of 25 field goals including going 3/3 on kicks of 50 yards or further. The Bengals no longer have Tom Obarski on the roster as the Giants signed him away at the end of the 2015 season. Could Oberkrom be someone the Bengals look to add to the roster?
Jaden Oberkrom
Ht: 6’2"
Wt: 186 lbs
Class: Senior
College: TCU
College Stats:
| FGM | FGA | FG% | FGM 0 ~ 40 | FGA 0 ~ 40 | FG% 0 ~ 40 | FGM 40+ | FGA 40+ | FG% 40+ | XPM | XPA | XP% | ||||
| 2012 | 22 | 30 | 73.3% | 11 | 16 | 68.8% | 11 | 14 | 78.6% | 42 | 42 | 100.0% | |||
| 2013 | 14 | 18 | 77.8% | 10 | 10 | 100.0% | 4 | 8 | 50.0% | 37 | 37 | 100.0% | |||
| 2014 | 22 | 27 | 81.5% | 16 | 18 | 88.9% | 6 | 9 | 66.7% | 76 | 77 | 98.7% | |||
| 2015 | 21 | 25 | 84.0% | 11 | 14 | 78.6% | 10 | 11 | 90.9% | 59 | 60 | 98.3% | |||
| CAREER | 79 | 100 | 79.0% | 48 | 58 | 82.8% | 31 | 42 | 73.8% | 214 | 216 | 99.1% |
Important Notes:
- He would become the first player named Jaden in the NFL.
- As a freshman and as a senior he had a better field goal percentage from over 40 yards (84%) than he had inside of 40 yards (73%).
Scouting Report Consensus - What to like:
- Made over 99% of his extra point attempts, going 214 of 216
- Made all three of his 50+ attempts in 2015 including a long of 57 yards
- Great kickoff distances with a high percentage of touchbacks in 2015
- Set Big 12 record for most career field goals made, 79
- Has been a clutch kicker in his college career
- Made 10 of 11 kicks beyond 40 yards in 2015
Scouting Report Consensus - What to not like:
- Lacks great accuracy on short kicks, missing 30% inside of 40 yards, including 2 misses inside of 30 yards
- Has had four kicks blocked over the last two seasons
- Only average kickoff hangtime
Additional reading: 2016 Draft Profile: Washington WR Jaydon Mickens and 2016 Draft Profile: USC DT Antwaun Woods
Projected Round:
Round 7 or undrafted free agent
Conclusion:
Of the draftable kickers, Oberkrom has the worst track record with accuracy on field goal attempts inside of 40 yards. But he makes up for that by having a good success rate outside of 40 yards, even better than the highly touted Roberto Aguayo. His strong leg should help him find a spot in training camp for a team this summer, but he will need to improve his ability to make the gimme attempts to stick with a team.
He would be a solid undrafted free agent for the Bengals to bring in as competition for Nugent. If he can show improvement on the shorter field goals, he could push for a roster spot somewhere.