It took four rounds, but the first special teams player is finally off the board at the NFL Draft.
With the 124th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Browns selected former LSU kicker Cade York. The pick marks just the second time over past 10 years that we've seen a kicker taken before the 125th pick. The only other time it happened came in 2016 when the Buccaneers traded up to 59th overall for Roberto Aguayo. The Browns will clearly be hoping that York works out better than that. The good news for the Browns is that if his college career was any indication, this is a pick that should work out well for them.
York was arguably the best kicker in the draft and as the special teams guru here at CBSSports.com, he was the kicker I had at the top of my draft board. Not only does he have a strong leg, but he also showed off impressive accuracy. During the 2021 season, he went 5-for-7 on field goals of 50 or more yards. As if that's not impressive enough, he only missed one kick the entire season from inside 50 yards (9-for-10).
During his time at LSU, York won multiple awards. In 2020, not only was he voted first-team All-SEC, but he was also voted a second-team All-America by the Associated Press.
It's not surprising at all that the Browns selected a kicker as early as they did and that's because the position was a total nightmare for them last season. Chase McLaughlin was the team's kicker in 2021 and he had a disastrous year, hitting just 71.4% of his field goal attempts (15 of 21), which was the second-worst percentage in the NFL for any kicker who attempted 10 or more field goals. McLaughlin seemed to fall apart at the end of the season, hitting just 2 of 6 field goals over the final six games he played in last season.
Although the Browns re-signed McLaughin in April, you can bet they will give York every chance possible to win the kicking job this year.
