Pats Pulpit
Previewing the Patriots kicker heading into his first season in the NFL.
With Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski holding own the fort for two decades, the New England Patriots once were a bastion of stability at placekicker. Those days are long gone, however, and the team has not found consistency at the position since.
As a result, the Patriots are the only team in the NFL to draft three kickers since Gostkowski’s departure in 2020. The latest of them comes via the University of Miami, and the sixth round of this year’s draft.
Name: Andres Borregales
Position: Placekicker
Jersey number: 36
Opening day age: 22 (1/2/2003)
Measurements: 5’11 1/8”, 202 lbs, 28 7/8” arm length, 8 1/4” hand size, N/A Relative Athletic Score
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Miami (2021-24)
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Borregales and his family moved to the United States shortly before his second birthday. Playing soccer and football growing up, he attended several high schools in the Miami area in hopes of maximizing his potential on the gridiron. Eventually, he finished at Champagnat Catholic and as a three-star recruit — one who received a handful of scholarship offers before committing to his hometown school.
In four seasons at Miami, Borregales proved himself more than just an able kicker: he became one of the best players at his position in the entire country. A four-time All-ACC selection (first team 2023 and 2024; second team 2021 and 2022), he appeared in 50 total games for the Hurricanes and went 74 for 86 as a field goal kicker (86%) as well as 183 for 184 on extra points (99.5%).
Borregales set his sights on the NFL in 2025. The consensus top kicker prospect, he heard his name called 182nd overall by the Patriots in the sixth round of the draft.
Strengths: Having made 86 percent of his field goal attempts during his college career as well as 70 percent from beyond 50 yards, Borregales brings an impressive résumé to the NFL — and more. He is a technically advanced kicker whose smooth and repeatable motion allows him to combine accuracy and maximize his range. His leg strength should also translate to the next level, and allow him to maintain control of his kicks in more challenging conditions than he faced in the ACC. He also has vast experience on kickoffs and earned a career touchback rate of 60.5 percent on 306 attempts.
Weaknesses: Despite the right makeup, Borregales is still a somewhat unclear projection from the college to the pro level. Not only is there uncertainty about how he will hold up in New England weather, but also whether or not he can keep his success rate high with an increased workload (his 19 field goal attempts in 2024 would have ranked 32nd in the NFL). In addition, he is on the smaller side and not the most fluid overall athlete. He also found himself out of position as...
