The perfect target for the Packers is not even in the NFL yet
The Green Bay Packers are still trying to find their answer at kicker. After letting Mason Crosby walk, the team drafted Anders Carlson in the sixth round last year, but he had a disappointing rookie season. So general manager Brian Gutekunst has signed former Georgia kicker Jack Podlesny and former Minnesota Vikings veteran Greg Joseph […]
The Green Bay Packers are still trying to find their answer at kicker. After letting Mason Crosby walk, the team drafted Anders Carlson in the sixth round last year, but he had a disappointing rookie season. So general manager Brian Gutekunst has signed former Georgia kicker Jack Podlesny and former Minnesota Vikings veteran Greg Joseph to create a competition.
Their definitive answer, however, might be in a minor football league. Jake Bates, with an incredible story, has caught the attention of scouts and the public because of his performance for the Michigan Panthers in the UFL.
What he has done
Bates' first professional game as a kicker was last week, when the Michigan Panthers faced the St. Louis Battlehawks. He converted a 64-yard field goal, but the Battlehawks called a timeout to ice him. Bates went there and converted the new kick again, the longest field goal in UFL (combining the records of its predecessors XFL and USFL) history. It was the second longest converted field goal in pro football history, just behind a 66-yarder connected by Justin Tucker for the Baltimore Ravens.
You might think this was luck, though, since having a strong leg doesn't necessarily mean consistency, and Anders Carlson is a good example of that. But in week 2, Bates converted a 62-yard field goal during the Panthers' game against the Birmingham Stallions. The kicker also converted a 52-yarder later in the matchup.
Unusual path
The most impressive aspect of that sequence is that Jake Bates hadn't kicked a field goal since high school — and even then, those were rare for him. In college football, he went through Central Arkansas as a soccer player, then transferred to Texas State and Arkansas, but always as a kickoff specialist. He played behind good kickers and was always an afterthought.
After going undrafted last year, he signed with the Houston Texans. But the Texans had an established kicker in Ka'imi Fairbairn, so Bates didn't have a real shot to make the 53-man roster. In the preseason, he played one game, against the New England Patriots, and converted two of three extra points.
The good start in the UFL, though, is a life-changer for Bates.
"I didn't know if I was going to be working my job selling bricks or if I was going to be able to play football," the kicker said after his first game. "So, yeah, it feels good. I feel like I got that sense of relief once we got to training camp. It was like, 'okay this is happening, I'm with the team,' and getting the first game out of the way and getting a W feels good."
The NFL is watching him
The UFL is a good path for players to accumulate tape and show what they can do. Jake Bates is certainly taking the most out of it, and the NFL is already aware of him.
According to Tony Paul, from the Detroit News, multiple NFL teams have already inquired about the Michigan Panthers about the kicker — including the Packers' NFC North rivals Detroit Lions.
Why it makes perfect sense
Drafting kickers is mostly a flawed process considering the success rate. For the most part, the NFL can't correctly identify good kickers, and it makes more sense to way and add undrafteds.
But what players do in minor leagues, on the other hand, tends to be sustainable. Kicker is probably the most translatable position from the UFL to the NFL, considering that the operation is similar.
Last year, for example, the Dallas Cowboys signed Brandon Aubrey. He is a former professional soccer player and had never played organized football.
After practicing to become a kicker, he signed with the Birmingham Stallions in 2022 to play in the USFL.
He immediately made the All-USFL Team. After two strong seasons in the minor league, Aubrey signed with the Cowboys last season. As an NFL first-year player, he converted 36 of 38 field goals and 49 of 52 extra points, breaking records as the most consecutive field goals made to start a career and most field goals made of 50+ yards without a miss in a single season. He was a First-Team All-Pro, a Pro Bowler, and the NFL scoring leader in 2023.
Competition
It's impossible to know if Jake Bates will be as good as Brandon Aubrey right away. However, it's worth a try. Without a long track record as a kicker, Bates still has room to improve and to consolidate himself as a full-time player.
According to UFL rules, he has to finish the season before the window to get out of the contract to go to the NFL — and an opportunity will certainly arise. At the same time, the rest of the games will give him an opportunity to show consistency and how he handles eventual ups and downs.
For the Packers, Bates would offer a high-ceiling, cheap option to compete — and the team offers a real shot at making the 53-man roster, which is exactly what Bates will look for.
Packers sign established veteran to compete with struggling draft pick
Joseph converted 36 of 38 extra points in 2023
