Since the Dallas Cowboys released Greg Zuerlein as one of their first major offseason moves, the team has just one kicker on the roster. Hometown kid and former SMU Mustang, Chris Naggar.

Although mostly unproven in the NFL as a second-year player, the 24-year-old kicker has the credentials to play in the NFL. Born and raised in Arlington, Texas, Chris was named a District special teams MVP and was a 6A All-State Kicker and Punter. He walked on to Texas and later transferred to SMU.

As a Mustang in 2020, Naggar made 17 of 21 field goals at an 81% efficiency, leading the AAC conference. From inside 40 yards, Naggar was a perfect 12-for-12. He finished the season as a semifinalist to the Lou Groza Award, which is presented every year to the nation's best kicker.

Looking back on his high school and college career, it feels like Chris was destined to compete for a roster spot in the Dallas Cowboys.

"It's the team that represents his hometown," his agent Nathan Shackelford from Higher Calling Sports told A to Z Sports. "It's one of the teams he was excited about from the start."

Well, the Cowboys might be excited about the young kicker as well.

In fact, the Cowboys have been interested in Naggar since his Pro Day in 2021. And when Zuerlein was injured in 2021, the Cowboys even reached out to him. At the time, Chris was on the Cleveland Browns' practice squad, and with NFL regulations trying to deter teams from poaching players for temporary use, nothing came to fruition.

"This didn't come out of nowhere," says Shackelford.

The Dallas Cowboys know very well Chris Naggar has the potential to be a worthy starter. Although relatively unknown to the fanbase, Naggar's abilities are known around the league. As an undrafted free agent, four teams battled for his services in a bidding war.

In the 2021 NFL Draft, only one kicker was drafted. By now, you probably know the story about Evan McPherson, who imposed all kinds of playoff records with the Bengals in Cincinnati's recent run.

"After (McPershon), Chris had the next most guaranteed money of any kicker in the class," his agent tells A to Z Sports. "A lot of people in the league are very familiar with him."

The funny thing is science points toward similarities between Naggar and former Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein. An analytics group called TrackMan was at Naggar's Pro Day in 2021. TrackMan works with data in multiple sports, including baseball and even golf.

In the football world, they track rotation, distance, where a particular kick would've been good from, among other key stats.

"Chris' comparables at his Pro Day were just about the exact same as Zuerlein," said Shackelford. "Chris is hitting the exact same analytics that he is. It's just about consistency."

The Cowboys don't have a lot of tape on Chris Naggar taking deep shots, as he only attempted two kicks over 50 yards in college. But in other scenarios, he's been able to display his power.

"If he's indoor, like in AT&T Stadium and the roof is closed, you can probably feel good for him kicking up to about 62-63 (yards)," Nathan says, and he's got a reason to do so. The former Mustang hit from 63 twice in his Pro Day in 2021 at SMU.

On top of the power, Chris seems to have a necessary trait for the NFL. "He has a good trait which you want in a kicker which is he doesn't get rattled," Shackelford told A to Z Sports. 

The tape backs this up, as Naggar had two clutch game-winning field goals in 2021 including one in overtime after missing two field goals on a windy, messy game versus Tulane.

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Still, Chris Naggar hasn't found a home in the NFL yet, going through the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns as a rookie. What will be different during his time with the Cowboys?

Finding rhythm. "He's never had that so far in his career."

Without Zuerlein in the mix, he'll likely have just that throughout the offseason along with a fair shot at making the 53-man roster.

Featured image via Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports