The moment the New Orleans Saints signed Daniel Carlson it became crystal clear that he was going to win the kicker battle that plagued training camp. It only took less than a week and two field goals to confirm those suspicions. NewOrleans.Football's Nick Underhill reported the Saints were rolling with Carlson as their starting kicker over Charlie Smyth and Tanner Brown as the team trimmed down their roster.
The fact Carlson was assumed the leader and snatched the job so quickly is a testament to the direction the battle was headed. You don't bring in a player at a position like kicker in the 11th hour unless you lack confidence in who is in the room.
Smyth and Brown were given time to prove themselves, but the decision was setting up to be a pick of which one was less bad, rather than which was better. Then, Carlson came in and knocked in a 53-yard game winning field goal in his first action as a Saint. It was all she wrote after that.
Daniel Carlson needs to rediscover his magic with the Saints
Prior to the 53-yarder, Carlson also made a 38-yard field goal. That was the warm up, but it can't be discounted after Tanner Brown missed a field goal from nearly identical range the week prior. Carlson knocked down the easy kick and the big moment kick.
Seeing that it's been a while since any Saints kicker made a big moment kick, that was the moment that erased any doubt. Smyth and Brown certainly hadn't shown that ability.
It's going to be more than just making a game winner in the preseason. Carlson will need to make those types of field goals and the routine kicks in the regular season as well. He's going to have to establish the consistency that's been lacking at the position.
In order to do that, Carlson is going to have to find himself again. He has two All-Pro seasons on his resume, and that has fans hyped for what he could be. However, those seasons were in 2022 and 2021.
That was three years ago, and Carlson's made field goal percentage has been on a steady decline each year afterwards. The biggest difference is his efficiency from 50 yards or more. During his All Pro seasons, Carlson made 17/20 from that range, but that's dipped to 13/22 in the last three seasons.
As a whole, Carlson only made 81.5% of his field goals last year. That's better than Blake Grupe's last year in New Orleans for sure, but that's a low bar to define success. Fans should hope to see Carlson step up from his own 2025 campaign to create more confidence in the position.
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