Where does Nick Folk Rank among NFL Kickers? Be Worried
All the pressure is on kicker Nick Folk to provide the offensive points for the New York Jets this coming season. For the 2016 season the Jets quarterback and offense looks in disarray making me wonder how can this team score points. Sadly the best answer is through field goals. But just how good is Folk?
Many, rightfully so, are worried about the quarterback situation: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, or Christian Hackenberg as the starter. But there should be as much concern on the kicker. He really isn’t that good.
Let’s analyze how well Nick Folk produced in 2015. He made 13 of 16 field goal attempts. That’s 81.3% for the regular season. The average field goal percentage in the NFL in 2015 was 81.474%. That ranks Folk as the 28th best kicker in the league when it comes to field goals made.
And if we’re talking about extra points, Folk made 19 of 19 extra points attempts. That’s only 19 attempts which is a league low. Only 5 NFL teams had fewer extra point attempts. This means that the Jet’s offense is more reliant on field goals than touchdowns for points.
Even more pressure on Folk.
For his career, Folk has a field goal percentage of 80.6% in the regular season and 66.7% in the post season. He spent his first three years in the league with the Dallas Cowboys and since joining the New York Jets in 2010 his field goal percentage is 80.97%.
One last statistical point to worry about is Nick Folk’s kicking range. His career average of field goals made from over 50 yards is 21 of 35. That’s 60%. Don’t you think the Jets will find themselves needing to score field goals from over 50 yards this upcoming season?
Yes, the Jets should worry about who their starting quarterback is going to be, but knowing that it’s not going to be a quality QB the concern should be all on how good the kicker is. And Nick Folk is at best average. The stats say that. Be very worried.
