The Green Bay Packers made a couple of notable changes in the special teams department that they hope will make a difference this upcoming season. Green Bay signed wide receiver/ return specialist Skyy Moore to a one-year deal and brought in Cameron Achord to be the new special teams coordinator for Rich Bisaccia, who stepped down in February.
However, one position the Packers haven’t changed yet is kicker. Veteran Brandon McManus is still penciled in as the starter despite having a rough 2025 season. McManus only made 80% of his field goals (24-of-30), which is a step back from his first year in Green Bay, where he made 95.2% of field goals (20-of-21).
With his struggles, there was a thought that the Packers would cut ties with McManus before the start of free agency. That never happened, but the veteran kicker isn’t out of the woods. Green Bay is apparently doing homework on the kicker draft class, expressing interest in Iowa’s Drew Stevens.
Packers College Kicker Rumor Hints Brandon McManus' Job Isn't Totally Safe
In an interview with Justin Melo of NFL Draft on SI, Stevens said that he met with the Packers virtually and has been invited to the team’s local pro day.
“I had a virtual meeting with the Green Bay Packers. That was a lot of fun. We went over film together. We had a blast going over the technical aspects of kicking together. The Packers invited me to attend their local pro day."
Stevens is coming off a stellar collegiate career at Iowa, where he scored 352 points, which was the second-most in Iowa history.
This past season, Stevens converted 97.6% of his extra points (41-of-42) and 78.6% of his field goals (22-of-28). For his career, Stevens is an 80 percent field goal kicker.
Nonetheless, it would be a surprise to see the Packers draft a kicker, considering the last time they did that was in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft with Anders Carlson. And we all saw how that panned out for the Packers.
However, it's hard to overlook what Stevens has done at Iowa and how McManus performed last season. The kicker prospect has a big leg, which could intrigue Green Bay, given McManus struggled from 40-plus yards last season (6-of-12, including 3-of-7 from 40-49).
Meanwhile, Stevens was 7-of-10 from 40-49 yards and 4-of-6 from 50-plus yards last season. Over his four-year career, the former Hawkeye kicker is 20-of-29 (68.9%) from 40-49 yards and 12-of-19 from 50-plus (63.2%), with his longest field goal made coming this past season from 58 yards.
The fact Green Bay is sniffing around a kicker is notable. It could be them doing their due diligence, but given that kickers are far from secure in their jobs, anyone the team brings in has a chance to prove they're the Packers' best option.
Of course, Brian Gutekunst doesn't need to take a kicker since he also has Lucas Havrisik on a futures contract, but adding another name to the mix would be a great way to make sure all paths are exhausted before Week 1. Then Green Bay could have an open competition between a veteran, an up-and-comer and a new face, allowing them to feel confident in whomever they choose.