Greg Zuerlein was projected to be the Jets’ kicker heading into 2025, even after the team brought in competition earlier in the offseason. But with the veteran recently released, there’s a new leg in town—one that may just be better for the team’s future.
Jets’ new kicker Anders Carlson could be the leading man
There’s a new kicker in town. The most likely kicker for the Jets is going to be Anders Carlson, whom the team had previously signed. Carlson has a big leg and even had saw time kicking this past season for the San Francisco 49ers and the Jets.
His calling card is his impressive range while kicking. Last season, his longest field goal was 58 yards, and on kickoffs, he kicked a touchback about 43% of the time for the Jets.
Zuerlein last season did not perform when he was healthy. Now, having a kicker in Carlson with a bigger range, that more likely than not will make extra points at a high clip.
Carlson has had his share of struggles
Carlson isn’t the sure thing, and he does have some previous struggles that have gotten him into trouble. His former head coach, Matt Lafleur, even said, “When he goes out there, I pray.” This is not the type of confidence you want to have in your kicker, especially for a team looking to make the playoffs.
The former Packers kicker also had struggles in his first season, 2023, with his consistency. He had missed five extra points, making them at an 87.2% clip, and also missed six field goals. What stands out from this season is that he made all field goals inside of 39 yards, which should be sure points for a team.
2025 Predictions
With Carlson seemingly being named the kicker, this will show the team has confidence in him. Only being 26 years old, Carlson has time to grow with the Jets and be their long-term kicker.
However, Carlson does need to improve on extra points and find more consistency. This is the easiest kick to make, but many times the kicker overthinks and either pushes or pulls it. If he fixes his steps and doesn’t overstride, I believe that we will see a more consistent kicker.
And for the cherry on top, if he improves his accuracy from deep, we could have the makings of a really solid kicker for the Jets. He is a bit inconsistent from deep, and there are a couple of reasons as to why.
The one that I think affects Carlson the most is his confidence. Him getting the reigns to be the kicker at this point should be very good for the 26 year old, and I believe we could see an increase in production this season.
