Among Jacksonville’s many problems in 2021, one of the most pressing — at least early in the season — was its struggles in the kicking game.
Josh Lambo, the veteran kicker who would later provide the catalyst that led to the team firing Urban Meyer, began the year as the starter. However, he was coming off an injury-plagued 2020 season, and he just didn’t look himself.
He missed his first three field goals to begin the season and two of his first seven extra points, and he was later released by the team. His replacement was Matthew Wright, a third-year kicker who had made several stops (including in the short-lived XFL, where he was cut during training camp) but hadn’t been able to stick anywhere.
After Wright took the job, though, things immediately improved. He had a very solid season and, with the Jaguars’ offensive problems, got a good bit of work. He hit 21 of his 24 field-goal attempts, and six of those attempts were from 50-plus yards, of which he made four. His long on the year was from 56.
It certainly could have been a lot worse for the Jags considering the way the season began, but Wright managed to hold down the position throughout the otherwise rough campaign.
Heading into 2022, the question is whether this team should move forward with Wright, who is pending free agent, as its kicker. While he was overall very efficient, his two misses on 15 extra-point attempts, while not disastrous, were still less than ideal.
It may not be a bad idea to draft a kicker or maybe look at other free agent kickers, especially considering Wright was a player that previously struggled to remain on an NFL roster. But with that being said, Wright proved that he can be trusted from long-range, and if he can carry his efficiency into 2022, there’s no real need to upgrade.
Jacksonville had some competition at this spot last offseason under the previous staff, and it seems fair to assume there will be some again now, especially with a new special teams coordinator in town in Heath Farwell.
But should the team enter the offseason planning for Wright to retain the kicking job in 2022 if he’s brought back? Or should it look for an upgrade, or at the least some competition? Let us know in the poll below.
