The New Orleans Saints are having yet another kicking battle this offseason, and this time neither Charlie Smyth nor Tanner Brown has yet to bear fruit. It's become especially underwhelming as training camp has gone on.
Incumbent Charlie Smyth has let whatever lead he's had slip away, going 22 of 29 through the kicks charted so far. That's the same percentage (75%) as last season, an indicator that there hasn't been much improvement. It also means there hasn't been any regression, which is always a good thing, but to keep his job, improvement will need to be obvious.
To Smyth's favor, his competition hasn't fared much better. Brown, his biggest competitor these past few months and former UFL kicker, has made 21 of his 25 attempts. Just barely better, it's still not enough to solidify his spot over Smyth, let alone the spot itself.
The Saints need to bring in another kicker into the competition
To make the playoffs, the Saints will need to make more than 75-80% of their field goals. At the very least, they should set 80% as their minimum, since that was the lowest percentage among playoff teams last year. Another kicker needs to be brought in, because looking at the way it's going in New Orleans, their kicker for the 2026 season might not be on the team yet.
Notable names they could call in are veterans Graham Gano and Matt Prater. With 17 and 18 years of experience, respectively, both have also appeared in many playoff games. Gano even has Super Bowl experience, having been on the 2015 Carolina Panthers team.
However, they are also both essentially at the end of their careers. Younger options also aren't that available, with Daniel Carlson being the youngest notable kicker left according to Spotrac. To find their next kicker, or rather their next camp invitee, the Saints might be forced to expand their search to other UFL kickers or even wait to see who gets cut from other teams.
This all isn't to say that whoever the third guy New Orleans brings in, if they even bring in someone else, will get the job. He could very well light a fire under Smyth or Brown, but either way, the Saints need to get some literal fresh legs before camp gets too far gone.
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