The San Francisco 49ers selected kicker Jake Moody in the third round -- No. 99 overall -- of the 2023 NFL Draft to replace reliable veteran Robbie Gould. Given his status as the first kicker taken -- the earliest selected since 2016 -- Moody enters his career with high expectations.
In his first preseason action, the Michigan product struggled, going 0-for-2 on field goal attempts in Sunday's loss to Las Vegas. Despite the flubs, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said he's not concerned about the rookie kicker.
"I'm not," Shanahan said after the game, per the team's official transcript. "It's unfortunate because I know the pressure on him and everyone's looking. And I know he missed those two today. He's been great in practice. He's hit them all."
Moody pulled a 40-yard attempt wide left on the first half's final play. Early in the fourth quarter, the rookie pushed a 58-yarder wide right.
"It's something to learn from," Moody said. "We're just going to go through a different routine, I guess, to deal with the extra time between the kick. But a lot of good learning experiences for the first game."
Moody has shown a big leg during Niners camp, but Sunday's misses will likely ramp up the pressure moving toward the regular season.
"Second field goal, that one was tough," Moody said. "Felt confident in it. Fifty-eight yards, it's a longer one, but I had all the confidence in the world that I could go out there and nail it and just kind of wash away the first one.
"First one felt good. It just happens. I'm glad it happened now. There's a lot to learn from it. Watch the tape, stuff like that, and move on to the next one."
Gould provided stability at the Niners' kicker position for the past six seasons. While the veteran didn't have the biggest leg, he rarely missed when it mattered. Gould netted 27 of 32 attempts last season and continued his streak of being perfect in the postseason -- 8 of 8 on FGs, 5 of 5 on PATs in the playoffs.
There is plenty of time for "Money" Moody, the two-time Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year winner, to straighten out his kicks before meaningful games begin. But the Niners' kicker situation bears monitoring for a team with Super Bowl expectations. We've seen kickers -- particularly young ones -- struggle with the yips amid high expectations.
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