It's not Roberto Aguayo's fault that the Buccaneers traded up in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft to take him. If he had been a sixth-rounder, nobody would care that he's missed a few kicks, or struggled in practice. But Aguayo is the most accurate kicker in college history and that, along with his draft pedigree, means he's facing more scrutiny than your garden-variety high-round pick at any other position other than maybe quarterback. And fair or not, it seems to be getting to him.
Aguayo said earlier this week that he's reached out to other NFL kickers, and has even consulted a mental coach. It's way too early to condemn the player or the pick -- seriously, we're only halfway through the preseason -- but if he continues to struggle, expect more of this:
"I would never draft a kicker in the first three rounds," former NFL kicker Jay Feely told the Arizona-based Burns & Gambo radio show, via the Tampa Bay Times' Joey Knight.
Sound familiar? Here's CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco back in April, minutes after the pick was announced:
Aguayo. Grade: F. Why? Why? He's a kicker. A kicker. Say it again: A kicker.
— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) April 30, 2016
And here's Prisco on Saturday, after Aguayo honked another preseason kick:
Again: Never use a second-round pick on a kicker. Never. Difference between greats and middle of pack not significant.
— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) August 20, 2016
Feely continued: "I think very highly of the position and the importance of the position, but the difference (between) an average kicker and the best kicker in the NFL is probably about 15 points in a season. You can go and you can find kickers that are very good, very talented, as free agents."
And that's the rub. When you draft a kicker that high, he better not miss, ever. You can find comparable talent for much, much cheaper, especially for a team coming off six wins and plenty of needs. But what's done is done and the Bucs and Aguayo have to find a way to make this work.
"I'm sure that what's happened to him is more nerves than anything else," said Jay Feely's dad, Tom, who also runs a local kicking academy, FeelyKicking.com. "I've only seen him kick on TV, but I don't think it's an issue of technique at all. I think it's just a matter of finding his confidence level and getting to the point where he can relax. You've got to learn to have fun."
As it stands, Aguayo is having anything but.
"It shouldn't happen with me," Aguayo said Sunday of the missed kicks. "You just have to fix it and keep moving on. I feel like that's what preseason games were made for, to get the young guys rolling in, to keep working, keep getting better."
That's certainly what the Bucs are hoping.
