Gang Green Nation
Taking a look at a candidate to kick for the Jets in 2025
The New York Jets recently signed former Ole Miss placekicker Caden Davis as an undrafted free agent. Let’s therefore look at Davis in more detail.
The 24-year old Davis is listed at 6’2” and 210 pounds. He was undrafted out of Ole Miss in April. Davis was at Texas A&M for four years before transferring to Ole Miss in 2023. He made 81 percent of his field goal attempts over the last two years.
Background
Davis was a three-star high school recruit and enrolled at Texas A&M in 2019, where he would redshirt his freshman season. Over the next three years, he played primarily just as a kickoff specialist, missing three of his four field goal attempts while making all seven of his extra points. He therefore opted to transfer to somewhere he could get a chance to be the main kicker. He got that opportunity at Ole Miss.
Davis made 18 of 23 field goals and all 45 of his extra point attempts in 2023 and then made 24 of 29 field goals in 2024, although he did miss two extra points.
Davis signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Jets, containing just $35K in guaranteed money. However, his roster chances improved when veteran Greg Zuerlein was released earlier this month.
Measurables/Athleticism
Davis has good size for a kicker, which helps him to generate power. He did not work out at his pro day, but he was on the track and field team in high school.
Leg Strength
Davis definitely has excellent leg strength, as he regularly makes field goals from beyond 65 yards in practice. He even made a 76-yarder once, albeit with the wind behind him.
He’s had a chance to showcase his big leg in games a few times, making a 57-yard game winner in high school and kicks of 56 and 57 yards with Ole Miss. Perhaps his most impressive kick, though, was against Georgia when his 53-yarder went over the goal post in rainy conditions.
His leg strength is also a key factor on kickoffs, where he has consistently posted a touchback rate of over 80 percent and gets impressive hang time, including a hang time of over five seconds on this kickoff.
He was named College Football Network’s Kickoff Specialist of the Year at the end of the 2024 season.
Accuracy
The accuracy standard you like to see college kickers meet is 80 percent, and Davis falls just below that, although he is above it over the past two years, which were the only seasons in which he was a full-time placekicker. He also posted a career best 83 percent in 2024 and his success rate on extra points is over 98 percent for his career.
Clutch
The main area of concern with Davis is his lack of experience. He’s only had two seasons of being a full time kicker since high school, despite being 24 already. Moreover, he...
