Harrison Butker should take another big step in Chiefs legacy in 2021

Just over four years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs struck gold with the claiming of Harrison Butker from the Carolina Panthers. Just over two years ago, the Chiefs rewarded the kicker with a lucrative five-year contract extension. This year, Butker looks like a young man ready to begin talks of “legacy” when it comes to his career in red and gold.

Butker has been nothing short of a revelation over the last four NFL seasons for Dave Toub’s special teams production and the Chiefs offense since coming over in a brilliant grab by general manager Brett Veach. What began as a groin injury for Cairo Santos has turned into an impressive young career with the franchise’s all-time greats in his sights. All he needs at this point is health and consistency.

In just four seasons with the Chiefs, Butker has turned in four good to great performances and it’s a bit surprising he’s not been named to a Pro Bowl yet. Last year, he set a personal best with a 92.6 completion rate on field goal attempts for the season, making 25 of 27 total attempts. During the 2019 season, Butker led the entire NFL with 34 made field goals. In the season before that, he set an NFL high mark with 65 extra points made.

What makes Butker so great at what he does is his mix of power and accuracy. He’s never converted less than 89 percent of his field goal attempts, a figure that sounds silly given that some teams seem to have a carousel of unimpressive kickers year after year. Even more, Butker has always been a driven athlete, and has never shied away from answering tough questions when they were needed (such as last year’s missed extra points streak).

If Butker is looking for a next personal record to beat, he should set his eyes on Pete Stoyanovich’s all-time accuracy mark in a single season for the Chiefs. Back in 1997, Stoyanovich helped Marty Schottenheimer and the Chiefs to a 13-3 record with a season-long, can’t-miss effort in which he nailed 26 of 27 attempts. Last year, Butker was 25 of 27—just one short—and set the second-highest mark in team history.

As for career marks, Butker is quite a ways off from climbing higher in the ranks. At this point, he’s already the third best kicker in team history behind Nick Lowery and Jan Stenerud. Right now, Butker has made 121 career field goals, which sits at No. 3 on K.C.’s all-time list. The franchise record is 329 by Lowery, so Butker is going to need to stick around Arrowhead for quite some time in order to see that mark come into view.

At the very least, Butker looks like a man who will definitely see his current contract through—a five-year deal that runs through 2024. Given his drive, youth, and ability, he seems set to become the fixture he’s dreamed of being. This year, talk of his “legacy” might even start to surface in Chiefs Kingdom.