Gano has been ordinary on field goals, but he seems to be getting better. And his difference-making ability on kickoffs could land him a nice contract when the free agency window opens.
Graham Gano is going to be a free agent, and I think he’ll get a nice contract. When you factor in everything – kickoffs, field goals and extra points – I think he’s probably one of the top 10 kickers in the league now.
Gano grades out as only average on field goals. He was terrible in Washington, where he missed 21 field goals in the 2010-11 seasons. But kickers tend to figure things out and get a lot better as they get more experienced, and I think Gano is getting it. He went 24 of 27 on field goals last year for Carolina. That was above-average. So while there’s a little risk involved, I think it’s reasonable to expect he’ll be average in accuracy going forward.
It’s on kickoffs where Gano really excels. He might have the strongest leg in the league, and that makes him a weapon in that area. Over the last two years, 73 percent of his kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks, the best rate in the league. Only two kickers are even close to him; one is a kickoff specialist (Michael Koenen) and the other plays half of his game at altitude (Matt Prater).
Here are the touchback stats over the last two years for all kickers with at least 100 kickoffs. Gano used to kick for Washington. Note that the guy who holds that job now, Kai Forbath, ranks last on this list.
| PERCENTAGE OF TOUCHBACKS, 2012-13 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Team | Kicker | TB |
| 1. | CAR | Graham Gano | 72.8% |
| 2. | DEN | Matt Prater | 69.5% |
| 3. | TB | (KO) Michael Koenen | 66.0% |
| 4. | STL | Greg Zuerlein | 61.8% |
| 5. | ATL | (KO) Matt Bosher | 57.2% |
| 6. | MIN | Blair Walsh | 57.1% |
| 7. | OAK | Sebastian Janikowski | 56.3% |
| 8. | NE | Stephen Gostkowski | 56.3% |
| 9. | NO | (KO) Thomas Morstead | 56.1% |
| 10. | BAL | Justin Tucker | 54.8% |
| 11. | IND | (KO) Pat McAfee | 52.1% |
| 12. | CHI | Robbie Gould | 50.7% |
| 13. | KC | Ryan Succop | 50.3% |
| 14. | JAC | Josh Scobee | 48.4% |
| 15. | DAL | Dan Bailey | 48.2% |
| 16. | TEN | Rob Bironas | 47.3% |
| 17. | SF-DET | David Akers | 47.0% |
| 18. | SEA | Steven Hauschka | 46.9% |
| 19. | MIA-BUF | Dan Carpenter | 44.1% |
| 20. | ARI | Jay Feely | 42.5% |
| 21. | SF | Phil Dawson | 41.0% |
| 22. | PHI | Alex Henery | 40.6% |
| 23. | CIN | Mike Nugent | 35.6% |
| 24. | GB | Mason Crosby | 33.6% |
| 25. | PIT | Shaun Suisham | 33.5% |
| 26. | NYJ | Nick Folk | 30.4% |
| 27. | SD | Nick Novak | 26.3% |
| 28. | WAS | Kai Forbath | 25.0% |
—Ian Allan