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One of the best kickers in the 2017 NFL Draft, Jake Elliott had an impressive four-year career at Memphis. As early as his freshman year, when he went 16 of 18 (88.9%) and scored 72 points, he caught the attention of many around the NCAA and NFL communities.
Elliott's 2016 campaign was a solid as he went 21/26 on field goals including scoring on 2/3 field goals from 50+ yards. He was perfect on 202 extra points during his entire college career, which is nice to note after the Bengals' disastrous 2016 season filled with missed PATs. Should the Bengals be considering Elliott in the final rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft to add to their competition at kicker this offseason? Let’s take a look at what he brings to the field.
Jake Elliott
Height: 5’9"
Weight: 167 lbs
Arm length: 29"
Hands: 9"Class: Senior
Position: Kicker
College: Memphis
Projected Round: 6-7
Jake Elliott College Stats
| Total | FGM | FGA | FG% | FGM 0 ~ 40 | FGA 0 ~ 40 | FG% 0 ~ 40 | FGM 40+ | FGA 40+ | FG% 40+ | XPM | XPA | XP% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | FGM | FGA | FG% | FGM 0 ~ 40 | FGA 0 ~ 40 | FG% 0 ~ 40 | FGM 40+ | FGA 40+ | FG% 40+ | XPM | XPA | XP% |
| 2013 | 16 | 18 | 88.90% | 9 | 10 | 90.00% | 7 | 8 | 87.50% | 24 | 24 | 100.00% |
| 2014 | 21 | 32 | 65.60% | 15 | 16 | 93.80% | 6 | 16 | 37.50% | 57 | 57 | 100.00% |
| 2015 | 23 | 28 | 82.10% | 13 | 17 | 76.50% | 10 | 11 | 90.90% | 63 | 63 | 100.00% |
| 2016 | 21 | 26 | 80.80% | 9 | 11 | 81.80% | 12 | 15 | 80.00% | 58 | 58 | 100.00% |
| Total | 81 | 104 | 77.90% | 46 | 54 | 85.20% | 35 | 50 | 70.00% | 202 | 202 | 100.00% |
Important Notes:
- Four year starter for the Memphis Tigers
- Finalist for the Lou Groza multiple times during his college career (although, he never won the award)
- School’s record-holder for consecutive PAT made
- Ranks No. 1 for most points in Memphis history - 445 (beat out Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski - 369)
- In his freshman year (2013) Elliott was the only FBS kicker to attempt three or more field goals of 50-plus yards and convert every attempt (50, 52, 56 yards). He was also 7-for-8 on 40-plus yard field goals (.875)
Scouting Report Consensus - What to like:
- Has never missed an extra point, or any kick under 30 yards in his college career
- His team has recovered all three of his onside kick attempts over the past two seasons
- Removing his sophomore slump of 6 for 16 from beyond 40 yards, he has been a very reliable (85% make) career kicker
- Outside of that aforementioned sophomore slump, he successfully made 7 of 8 attempts from beyond 50 yards
- During his career, 63 percent (210-of-330) of his kickoffs have gone for touchbacks
Scouting Report Consensus - What to not like:
- Despite the high number of touchbacks, his kickoff distance and hang-time are below the desirable NFL standards
- His small frame (167 pounds) could limit his ability to support on kickoff coverage
- He’s made less than 80% of his kicks from inside 40 yards during the past two seasons
Conclusion:
Elliott compares very close statistically to Robert Aguayo, who the Buccaneers horribly over-drafted in the 2016 NFL Draft. For their careers, on all kicks (field goals and extra points) inside of 40 yards, Elliott is a 97% kicker, while Aguayo was a 100% kicker. And beyond 40 yards, Elliott is a 70% kicker vs 69% for Aguayo. Elliott also made 10 kicks in his career beyond 50 yards, which considerably tops Aguayo’s mark of three kicks from that distance.
While the attention is on Zane Gonzalez of ASU as the draft’s top kicker, Elliott could very well be steal of the draft, taken a round or two later. Of the five kickers who have a chance of being drafted in 2017, Elliott was the only one to nail a perfect 100% of his career extra point attempts (202 for 202). He also leads the group with 10 successful kicks from 50 yards (10 of 16).
In three of his four seasons with the Memphis Tigers, Elliott has compiled an 85.3% accuracy mark on all of his kicks from beyond 40 yards. That’s actually better than his career mark of 85.2% inside of 40.
During the past two seasons, he’s made every kick inside of 30 yards, and made an amazing 85% of his kicks from 40 yards or more. This makes his 67% accuracy from 30~39 yards during the last couple of years rather perplexing. But if one can get past that blip on the radar, they will see that he has never missed an extra point, has been excellent on kicks of 40+ and 50+ yards in three of four college seasons, and had a decent number of touchbacks on his kickoffs.
If the Bengals miss out on Gonzalez, Elliott could be a great consolation prize. Unlike Gonzalez, who had one amazing season, Elliott has been a very good kicker for the better part of his four year college career.