Cincinnati Bengals: This is only the beginning for Evan McPherson

The Cincinnati Bengals were the only team in the 2021 NFL Draft to select a kicker and they did so in the fifth round with their selection of Evan McPherson out of Florida.

This is an organization that knows all too well the struggles of having a less-than-serviceable kicker. They also know all too well what it feels like to give up on a kicker too soon and then go on to see that kicker thrive with another team.

Well, after one official regular-season game, Bengals fans feel a heck of a lot better at their chances of winning a game when it comes down to a field goal try. McPherson, under the gun in his first-ever NFL game, stepped up to the plate and hit a home run (wrong sport I know, but just roll with it) and it’s not crazy at all to think that this is the beginning of something special.

Evan McPherson is the kicker the Cincinnati Bengals have been searching for.

How many times over the past several years has a Bengals game come down to a field goal? And how many times have those kickers gone on to miss the field goal, resulting in either a loss or a tie?

While McPherson isn’t going to be perfect and will miss field goals, he’s already proven to be better than so many kickers of the Bengals past. That makes him an invaluable member of this team.

McPherson’s game-winning field goal earned him the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week title, which is well-deserved considering he won the game for his team. Not only that, but he did so as a rookie in his first-ever glimpse of action.

Bengals fans can breathe easy knowing they have a kicker with a big leg who has proven he can come through when called upon. This is an unfamiliar feeling for this fan base and hopefully, McPherson continues to be as clutch as he was in Week 1.

There will be mistakes but he’s already proven he can handle the pressure and that’s something past Bengals kickers can’t say.