The 2016 NFL Draft will have an underclassmen kicker for the taking! Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo announced on Wednesday that he will forego his senior season and enter the draft. He finishes up his college career among the all-time leaders in accuracy, having converted 267 field goals and extra points in 276 attempts.
Aguayo entered the season having converted 98 percent of all extra point attempts and field goals. He converted all his extra points in 2015, but took a step back on field goals. He converted 21 of 26, which lowered his career field goal percentage to 88.5. For his career, he was 5 of 8 on field goals of 50+ yards.
San Francisco 49ers kicker Phil Dawson is a free agent following a solid three-year career in the Bay Area. He has said he wants to continue playing, and would like to stay in Santa Clara, but contract terms will be something to track. He had a base salary of $3,134,000 last year, following a $1 million salary in 2014 and $1.25 million in 2013.
The 49ers have plenty of cap space, but it is also possible they are ready to make the transition to a younger kicker. They appear to have signed Corey Acosta to a reserve/future contract, but with 12 picks and coming off a year in which they drafted a punter, I think we can all make the early joke that Aguayo is going seventh overall!