Who Is The Most Accurate Kicker In Nfl History?
We take a look at the most accurate kickers in NFL history, and debate who is the best of the best.
Introduction
There are many variables that go into a good field goal or extra point attempt in football. The holder, the long snapper, the offensive line, and many others all have a hand in its success. However, the kicker is the one who gets the credit or the blame for whether it goes through the uprights or not.
In this article, we’ll be looking at the most accurate kickers in NFL history. This list includes active and retired players. It is based on percentage of successful field goal attempts over the course of a player’s career.
Adam Vinatieri
Vinatieri is the most accurate kicker in NFL history, made 86.5 percent of his field goal attempts and 96.8 percent of his extra points.
Jason Elam
Jason Elam (/ˈiːləm/ EE-ləm; born March 8, 1970) is a former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He played college football for the University of Hawaii, and was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 1993. Elam was selected to three Pro Bowls during his career with the Broncos. In 1998, he set an NFL record for the most points scored in a single season with 164.
Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson may not be a household name, but he is widely regarded as the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
Anderson played for five different teams during his career, and holds the league record for most field goals made in a season (40). He also set the record for most consecutive field goals made in a season (20), a mark that stood for 18 years.
In 2001, Anderson was named First-Team All-Pro, and was selected to the Pro Bowl. He was also named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Year.
During his career, Anderson made 85.4 percent of his field goal attempts, and 95.8 percent of his extra point attempts. He is the only kicker in NFL history to have a field goal percentage above 85 percent, and his career extra point percentage is the second highest in league history.
Anderson retired in 2004, and his records for most field goals made in a season and most consecutive field goals made still stand today.
Morten Andersen
Morten Andersen (born August 13, 1960), nicknamed “The Great Dane”, is a former American football kicker who played 25 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is the league’s all-time leading scorer at 2,544 points. In 2006, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Andersen was born in Copenhagen and raised in Struer, Denmark. He played soccer as a child, and grew up a fan of Danish teams FC København and Boldklubben 1909 (now FC Nordsjælland). In 1976, he visited his sister in Kansas City, Missouri. While visiting Whitehall-Yearling High School to watch her play tennis, Andersen was asked to try out for the high school football team. He had never played organized American football before, but he made the team as a sophomore.
Conclusion
There is no one definitive answer to this question, as it is impossible to compare kicking accuracy across different eras and different levels of competition. However, some of the most accurate kickers in NFL history include Adam Vinatieri, Jason Hanson, Robbie Gould, and Matt Bryant.
