The Green Bay Packers knew they had a problem heading into the 2024 season.
They spent a 2023 sixth-round pick on kicker Anders Carlson, but his rookie season was up and down, to say the least. He hit just 27 of 33 field goals and he missed five extra points throughout the season. Notably, he missed a field goal in Green Bay’s NFC divisional-round playoff matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. That’s a game the Packers lost by three points.
General manager Brian Gutekunst tried to light a fire under Carlson this offseason by bringing in veteran kicker Greg Joseph, but neither was inspiring during the preseason, which led to both ultimately getting cut before Gutekunst picked up Tennessee Titans rookie Brayden Narveson after 53-man cutdowns.
There’s certainly risk in going with a rookie kicker — the Packers learned that last year — but heading into a Week 1 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, head coach Matt LaFleur feels good with what he has in Narveson.
“I mean, yeah, I’ve seen enough to be confident in him,” LaFleur recently said, via the team website (h/t NFL.com). “So, if that’s what you’re asking: Do I have confidence in him? Absolutely, I do. I know Rich (Bisaccia), Byron (Storer) and Kyle (Wilber), as well as our scouting department really liked him coming out of college. He was a guy that was on a short list of people that they would like to work with. And when he became available, obviously, you saw what we did. We scooped him up.”
Narveson, out of NC State, is still an unknown commodity as an NFL kicker, but he did show extreme promise in the preseason for Tennessee. He hit 6 of 7 field goals, including a 59-yarder that was a game-winner, and he was perfect on extra point attempts. Notably, the only field goal he missed was from 58 yards out.
He’s got a big leg, which will help in the Green Bay winters. Now, the Packers are hoping he can put it all together for a team that otherwise looks the part of a Super Bowl contender.