What’s in store for Harrison Butker in his sophomore season?
By Jalon Dodson
Harrison Butker enjoyed an incredible rookie year but what will the sophomore season hold for the Kansas City Chiefs kicker?
Harrison Butker was initially drafted in the 7th round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers. After being waived by the Panthers in favor of veteran kicker Graham Gano, the Carolina Panthers signed Butker to their practice squad the following day. This is how the Kansas City Chiefs were able to land one of the best legs of the 2017 season.
As it turns out, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach was high on Butker, even before poaching him off of the Panthers’ practice squad, and I can see why, too. Butker graduated from Georgia Tech as the team’s all-time leading scorer. During his time at Georgia Tech, he converted 208-of-210 extra point attempts and also converted 43-of-60 field goal attempts. While the field goal percentage was only 71.6%, it was apparently good enough to get him drafted.
After being signed by the Kansas City Chiefs on September 26th, Butker made his debut the following week on October 2nd. If you don’t remember, it was electric. In his debut against the Washington Redskins, Butker converted 3-of-4 field goal attempts, including a game-winning field goal of 43-yards. Butker would go on to complete 38-of-42 field goal attempts and 28-of-28 extra point attempts.
Butker set 9 franchise records and 1 NFL record, including three franchise rookie records. Butker set the NFL record for most made field goals by a rookie kicker—an impressive feat. Butker’s performance led to being named an alternate in the 2018 Pro Bowl.
How will that success affect his second season with the Chiefs? Will he continue to be as automatic as his magical rookie season? We’ve all heard about the sophomore slump that plagues second-year NFL players. Will that affect Butker?
In college, Butker’s worst year came in his sophomore season. He went 11-for-18 that season, tacking on a missed extra point as well. While this wasn’t a year to remember for Butker, his final two years propelled the kicker to being drafted in 2017. I think Butker has a shot to break his own franchise record of 38 made field goals for the upcoming 2018 season.
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Only time will tell, but it’s likely that Butker’s stellar rookie season could be replicated in his sophomore year. If he suffers from the sophomore slump as in his collegiate years, a bounce back year could also be expected for him. Either way, though, I’m ready to watch Butker this season. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us as Chiefs fans, and what really intrigues me is he mixes power with accuracy.
His longest made field goal was 53 yards, and that’s no easy feat, mind you. He is very accurate with his kicks (an obvious statement given his 90.4% field goal completion percentage in 2017) but he has one of those rare powerful legs that mix accurate kicking as well.
One of the concerns with Butker is that he won’t get a chance to shine with second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes under center. Mahomes’ gunslinging antics, in combination with the powerhouse offense the Chiefs boast, could mean a lack of field goal attempts for Harrison Butker. This wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, however. Even if Butker was only able to attempt 30 to 35 field goals, that would still be a huge sophomore year for him. On the plus side, he will be able to kick more extra point attempts. Not only will this help him in his career, but it will also help you in your fantasy league if you have him on your team.
Butker has just the 2018 season left on his contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. If he can mimic his rookie performance, or do better as I expect him to, I foresee a lengthy contract with the team in his future.