Seahawks Draft profile: Roberto Aguayo

A Seattle Seahawks draft profile for FSU kicker Roberto Aguayo. It might sound crazy, but the Seahawks could have interest in the most accurate kicker in college football history.

The relief that washed over all of us Seahawks fans as we watched Blair Walsh miss a seemingly unmissable field goal on the final play of last season’s wild card game is relatively fresh in our minds.  The agony felt by Vikings fans fresher still, the pain and suffering of wondering what could have been is probably unbearable. 

That missed field goal was the difference in the game, and this wasn’t the first time that the Seahawks found themselves the beneficiaries of poor field goal kicking – remember the Jay Feely game?  Kickers are usually the least talked about positional players on an NFL roster, and are devalued around the league in terms of how much draft capital and salary cap space is spent on them. 

More from 12th Man Rising

• 4 prospects Seahawks could reach for at No. 20 in 2023 NFL Draft
• Seattle Seahawks Mock Draft: Post-first wave of free agency 
• Seahawks podcast: A review of the first week of free agency
• 4 experiments the Seattle Seahawks could cut short in 2023
• 3 pros and cons of Seattle Seahawks drafting Anthony Richardson

The inability of Josh Scobee to put the ball through the uprights cost the Pittsburgh Steelers a divisional game against the Ravens early last season.  It’s no surprise then that Mike Tomlin took advantage of Florida State’s pro day to evaluate a kicker who some consider to be the best prospect at his position in decades.

Of course I’m talking about the 3-time first team All-American Roberto Aguayo.  For those of you who aren’t aware Aguayo is the most accurate field goal kicker in the history of college football, having made 69 of 78 field goal attempts and 198 of 198 extra point attempts while at Florida State. 

Draft experts have said that most NFL teams expect the FSU star to be taken before the end of the 3^rd round. Now I’m going to tell you why I think the Seahawks should be the team to nab him. I hear the groans already from my fellow 12’s, but hear me out.

In a draft loaded with so much defensive and offensive line talent, the two things the Seahawks need more of than anything else, drafting Aguayo with a third round pick would be a hard sell to Seattle’s brain trust and us fans, especially considering that Steven Hauschka has proven to be one of the better kickers in the league over recent years. 

However Hauschka is 30 years old and is the only true kicker on the Seattle’s roster.  If Steven gets up in the middle of the night and kicks the bedside nightstand hard enough we could be looking at someone off the street kicking field goals for us during the 2016 campaign. 

A scary thought, especially when you consider the nature of Seattle’s games – close, hard fought, and low scoring.  Combine that with Seattle’s offensive ineptness in the red zone and the frequency at which drives stall and end with a field goal attempt, and you could argue that Seattle’s success is much more dependent on made field goals compared to other teams. 

Because of the close nature of the games and the tendency of Seattle’s meticulous offense to go cold for long stretches, whenever Hauschka lines up for a field goal I often think to myself: boy, we really need this.  Luckily, Hauschka usually comes through. 

By no means am I suggesting that the Seahawks should replace Hauschka with Aguayo, but having two capable kickers on the roster couldn’t hurt and eventually the 21-year old Aguayo would take over for the aging Hauschka.  Extra points are less of a sure thing than they used to be, Hauschka actually missed 4 last season, and I don’t see the Seahawks becoming a team that goes for 2 on the regular anytime soon.

 Aguayo never missed a field goal inside of 40 yards during his collegiate career, and could be tapped right away as a close range specialist while Hauschka handles kick offs and long field goals.  Aguayo exudes confidence, and exhibits the kind of swagger that epitomizes the Seahawks as a team. 

He repeatedly came through in the clutch for Florida State, and helped propel them to a national title.  He’s also relatively athletic, a valuable asset when it comes time to execute a fake field goal.  The devaluation of kickers would allow the perpetually cap-stricken Seahawks to sign Aguayo long term once his rookie contract is up without spending precious money needed to pay other players. 

Aguayo is a perfect fit for Seattle and makes a ton of sense, but the only way I see him in a Seahawks uniform next season is if John Schneider trades back and picks up additional mid-round picks. 

Next: Seahawks draft primer: day 1

The Bills are said to be looking for a long term QB and knowing Rex Ryan will probably go defensive front seven with the 19^th overall pick.  Perhaps they move up to 26 to get their guy; giving Seattle their second, third, and fifth round draft picks in the process.  If this happens, drafting Aguayo feels like something Pete Carroll would do.