The 49ers aren’t wasting any time gearing up to move on from veteran placekicker Robbie Gould. They met with NC State kicker Christopher Dunn per the Athletic’s Matt Barrows, and they plan to continue digging into this year’s NFL draft class to find Gould’s replacement.
Dunn hit 97 of his 115 field goals across five years with the Wolfpack. His final year was his best with 28 made field goals in 29 tries. It was a big-time bounce-back after missing 11 kicks in the previous two seasons.
One key as the 49ers evaluate their kickers will be finding one who can launch kickoffs out of the end zone. Gould handled kickoffs last year and only about half of them went for touchbacks. San Francisco will prioritize accuracy with their new kicker, but the ability to handle kickoff duties would be an added bonus. Dunn did not do kickoffs for NC State.
The NFL draft will take place April 27-29. The 49ers aren’t scheduled to pick until late on Day 2, and their selection of a kicker will likely wait until Day 3.
