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WATCH: Bengals rookie kicker from Florida blasts 57-yard field goal

by: Austin Brezina08/29/21AustinBrezina59

Cincinnati Bengals rookie kicker Evan McPherson from Florida drilled a 57-yard field goal going into halftime against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. McPherson’s kick would have tied the Bengals franchise record if it had been the regular season.

Florida greatness to Bengals rookie kicker

As time ran out in the first half against the Dolphins, McPherson got the green light to take a shot at a 57-yard kick. Standing on the Bengals logo, McPherson punched it through the goal posts with ease.

This is the second field goal the rookie has hit from over 50 yards in preseason, and he is now 5 for 5 on field goals since being drafted by the Bengals in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Entering the offseason, McPherson was expected to win the kicker position battle against Austin Seibert, another fifth-round draft pick. Seibert was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2019 and joined the Bengals as their kicker in 2020. The Bengals had given Siebert a field goal attempt earlier in the quarter, which he hit from 36 yards.

If McPherson’s success throughout camp and in preseason games wasn’t enough to win the job before, his 57-yard leg can only help his chances.

Florida excellence

Regarded as potentially the top kicker in the 2021 NFL Draft, McPherson made 51/60 career field goals at Florida and missed only one of his 150 extra-point attempts. He made five of his eight attempted field goals from beyond 50 yards and 11 of his 15 tries from 40-49 yards.

McPherson’s career accuracy of 85% at Florida made him the most accurate kicker in SEC history, taking the title away from LSU’s Josh Jasper who hit 83.9% of his attempts in college.

Entering the NFL draft, McPherson’s draft predictions were lower than what actually happened. With the 149th pick of the draft, Cincinnati selected McPherson.

Veteran analysts such as ESPN’s Todd McShay and Mel Kiper did not have him ranked within their top 150 prospects, and McShay even had him ranked second among kickers available in the draft.