Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, the owner of a still-fresh four-year, $16.8 million contract, is arguably the best player at his position in football.
But when we think about kickers, we almost never consider using them beyond the 50-yard line, and for good reason. Obviously, the success rate of a kick drops significantly but perhaps we should give Tucker a shot at changing our perception.
In ideal conditions, he can hit one from more than 80 yards out.
"We think about these things really specifically, if you send me out there you have a reason for it -- because they think I can make a kick," Tucker said Thursday on NFL Network's Good Morning Football. "To me it doesn't matter where I just have to hit a good ball. If conditions are prime -- like last season, we opened up in Denver, the weather was warm and the field was nice, you're up in altitude so the ball just carries and in pre-game I hit the cross bar from 85. So if the situation is just prime, maybe 84 and a half yards."
Eighty-four yards! While most coaches wouldn't dare attempt something like that so deep in their own territory (especially special teams guru John Harbaugh) it would be insane to see kickers start lobbing Steph Curry-type shots from their own territory. As athletes continue to get stronger and more efficient, it would be a welcome addition to a game that loves high scoring. Just imagine the fantasy points alone.
Tucker said he would not, however, attempt that 85-yard kick in Denver during the winter time, which is one of the few rubs in our fantasy here. The football takes on a brick-like feel in cold air.
