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PK Mike Nugent, New York Jets
HT: 5-10, WT: 182, Born: 3-2-1982, College: Ohio State, Drafted: Round 2
2008 Projections
Best Case
After hitting only 50% on field goals during his freshman year at Ohio State, Nugent was determined to improve. He did. He would miss only three kicks in each of the next three years. As a senior he was 24 of 27 (88.8%), including 5 of 6 from 50+ yards. He consequently won the 2004 Lou Groza Award, and was voted team MVP by his fellow Buckeyes. The Jets positioned themselves to draft Nugent in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft, ahead of several other teams that also coveted him. He had a very unproductive rookie year. He finished the year 22 of 28 (78.6%) on field goals and added 24 PATs for a total of 90 points. Nugent was determined to improve. On opening day of 2006, not only did he not improve, he looked worse. He missed two Field goals and one PAT. Fortunately, he put that behind him, and thereafter was almost perfect. His only other miss the remainder of that year was from 52 yards, and he finished 24 of 27 (88.9%). He made 34 PATs. Last year Nugent took a step backwards, hitting only 80.6% (29 of 36) on field goals, although three of the misses were from 50+ yards. If history is any indicator, expect the determined Nugent to improve once again.
Worst Case
Nearly 62% of Nugent's kickoffs in college resulted in touchbacks, however the additional five yards and the K-ball impacted him in the NFL. He appeared to hit the proverbial rookie wall on kickoffs in 2005, with a 64.9 yard average and had one touchback in the first half of the year, but only 55.8 yards and zero touchbacks in the second half. His kickoffs improved only slightly in his second year, 60.5 yard average with two touchbacks. Last year he had his best year since joining the NFL, averaging 61.1 yards with nine touchbacks.
Outlook
Nugent's scoring increased each of his three years in the NFL, although last year was a baby step. In his rookie year he scored 90 points and the Jets ranked 29th in kicker scoring. In his second year he scored 106 points, primarily since the Jets scored more touchdowns that year. They finished 2006 ranked 18th in kicker scoring. Last year he scored 110 points, primarily on the strength of a large number of field goal attempts. The Jets ranked 17th in kicker scoring. Other than the low output during Nugent's rookie year, the Jets have consistently ranked in the middle of the NFL in kicker scoring, including the six years before Nugent arrived when they ranked 14th, 14th, 17th, 15th, 19th, and 13th. This year the Jets have a new special teams coordinator, Kevin O'Dea, who served as assistant special teams coach for Chicago the last two years. If history is any indicator, expect Nugent to be more accurate on fewer attempts than last year, and the kicker scoring to be in the middle of the NFL pack.
