Gabe Brkic isn’t just some camp body the Minnesota Vikings randomly plucked out of the list of undrafted rookie free agents. No, he’s legitimate competition for current starting placekicker Greg Joseph.
The new guy on the block could be here to stay.
Cade York was the only kicker taken off the board at the 2022 NFL draft, and Brkic was believed to be the second, if another team made the decision to add a kicker to their roster. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had the former Oklahoma Sooner ranked as the second-best available kicker in the draft.
If anything, Brkic’s mere presence should light a fire under Joseph, who was up and down last season. Things started to come together towards the end, but there was clearly some turbulence early on.
Meanwhile, Brkic has shown signs of a player with ice for veins. There wasn’t a single player better than him in the country from 50 yards out in his final collegiate season. He was ranked No. 1 in most 50-plus yard makes (5) with his longest kick being two separate 56-yarders against Tulane and Western Carolina.
In his entire college tenure, he has booted 159 of 160 extra points through the uprights and 57 of 69 field goals.
Joseph signed his $2.4 million restricted free agent tender in free agency, but it’s important to note none of that money is guaranteed.
So the Vikings will approach this as a real competition to see who the better kicker is at this point.
“I think the biggest thing, you look at Gabe and the career that he had [at Oklahoma] and he really showed up in pressure situations—a lot of game-winning field goals,” special teams coordinator Matt Daniels told the media on Tuesday. “…There will be a full-on kicker competition and punter competition. That’s why we brought in guys like Gabe Brkic and Ryan Wright is to really push those veterans that we have.”
If Joseph isn’t careful, Brkic could end up pushing him right out the door.
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