The San Francisco 49ers have a decision to make at the kicker position, with Phil Dawson scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in two weeks. Considering the team drafted a punter last year, they could very well decide to pick a kicker this year. And now, the top kicker in the 2016 NFL Draft has his eye on them.
Florida State's Roberto Aguayo met with the media on Wednesday, and he talked about identifying kicker-needy teams:
"There's a couple of top teams that are interested. There's still teams that are waiting for free agency to see if their kickers are going to come back, see if they're going to sign them again. At the end of the day, I can control what I can control. I'll talk to all 32 teams. At the end of the day, someone is hopefully going to pick me and I'm just trying to be the best that I can and talk to everyone."
He was then asked if the 49ers were part of that group.
"They're definitely in the mix. They're definitely one of the higher teams looking for a kicker. You guys probably know the guys that aregoing to be in free agency. The Colts with Vinatieri. New Orleans is looking for a kicker. A few of those top teams that are interested."
Aguayo was a strong kicker in college, and seems confident in his abilities. He declared early for the draft, feeling the time was right. He won the Lou Groza award, and graduated from school. He hopes to be drafted in the second or third round, but obviously was certainly open to the idea of a team pulling a Janikowski and spending a first round pick on him. You can view his full comments here.
Dawson is hitting free agency, but the 49ers do actually have another kicker on the roster. The team signed Corey Acosta to a reserve/future contract last month. This marks his second run with the team. He signed with the 49ers last June as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Mississippi. He was part of the first round of roster cuts in training camp.
I don't believe he signed anywhere else after being released, but now is back with the 49ers. He likely will last through the offseason as at least a camp leg. However, the team very well could decide to go with the young kicker and not invest heavily in the position. Or, maybe they draft a specialist for the second straight season.