It's rare to see a kicker taken as high as the third round in the NFL Draft. How rare? San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody, who was selected in the third, became just the third player at his position selected in the fourth round or higher since 2006.
Heck, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan even admitted his friends made fun of him for taking a kicker so high! So, what made Shanahan and 49ers general manager John Lynch pull the trigger on Moody so soon?
During an appearance on KNBR's Murph & Mac show, Lynch said that teams were attempting to trade up to get ahead of the 49ers in the NFL Draft's third round.
“I can tell you, since then, that a lot of teams have called and said, you know, shortly thereafter they were going there. And in fact, teams tried to trade up to get in front of us.”
Whether or not these teams were eying Moody is unclear, but the 49ers felt they needed to act and take the Michigan product, who they feel is a “cornerstone” player.
Lynch is no fool, though. He acknowledged that the 49ers “weren't doing cartwheels” over taking a kicker that high.
But Moody, who won the Lou Groza award- given to the nation's best kicker- in 2021 while missing just two field goal attempts, isn't just any placekicker.
The 49ers believe Moody will allow them to make the 55-plus yard field goals now.
That's an area where former kicker Robbie Gould, who entered free agency in March rather than re-signing with San Francisco, struggled in over the last several years.
The 49ers better hope that Moody, who will be competing with March trade acquisition Zane Gonzales for the kicking duties, is as good as they think.
Otherwise, fans will be telling the 49ers brass to kick rocks.
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