It seems odd to say that a kicker — yes, a kicker — was the biggest steal in the 2021 NFL Draft but that’s how good Evan McPherson was for the Cincinnati Bengals this year.
McPherson, who the Bengals took in the fifth round (149th overall) out of Florida, went on to shine as a rookie kicker. Not many kickers go on to become household names but McPherson was one of the few who did that this past season.
On the season, the former Gators kicker went 28-of-33 on field goals for a completion percentage of 84.8 and 46-of-48 on extra points with a completion percentage of 95.8. He went a perfect 14-of-14 during the postseason, tying an NFL record.
https://twitter.com/NFLonCBS/status/1493038566334738432?s=20&t=yf_mNwYt7aZY7UoGdKRkyw
Not only was McPherson incredible on the field, but off of it, he was quite the character.
He went viral during the Super Bowl halftime show, as he stayed on the field to watch the performance and seemed to be enjoying the hell out of it.
https://twitter.com/NFL_DovKleiman/status/1493034500129013770?s=20&t=yf_mNwYt7aZY7UoGdKRkyw
Another epic story involving McPherson is during the AFC Divisional Round when he went on to kick the game-winning field goal, he said on the sideline, “Well, looks like we’re going to the AFC Championship Game” before taking the field. Freaking epic!
Bengals got a downright steal with Evan McPherson in 2021 NFL Draft
Sravan Gannavarapu of NFL Spin Zone wrote about the five biggest steals in last year’s draft and McPherson was No. 1 on the list. The reasons listed above directly correlate to why Money Mac was the draft’s biggest steal, as he had game-winning kick after game-winning kick throughout the season.
With all of the kicker woes the Bengals have experienced in recent years, having a guy like McPherson meant so much more to this fan base. Shooter McPherson was never fazed by the bright lights and when it came down to him attempting the kick that’d win the game for his guys, he didn’t miss.
People criticized the Bengals for going with a kicker in the fifth round (and they were the only team to draft a kicker) but we saw why this team went with the Florida product. Now other teams are kicking themselves (pun intended) for not drafting him.