The Green Bay Packers finally addressed their kicking position during last weekend's draft by trading up for the final pick of the sixth round to select Florida’s Trey Smack. Graded as the top kicker in this year’s draft by The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, Smack is a gift from the football heavens for a team whose fanbase desperately wanted an upgrade over Brandon McManus.
While McManus was great in his first season in Green Bay, he fell off a cliff in 2025, battling a quad injury and missing key kicks, including two field goals and an extra point in a wild-card round loss to the Chicago Bears. But as a veteran, McManus still has an advantage over the rookie, especially as Matt LaFleur’s staff has favored continuity over the past few years.
In the end, Smack will have to give the Packers something that McManus doesn’t. And it could be the rookie’s reliability on kicks from distance that forces the veteran out of Green Bay.
Trey Smack’s Big Leg Could Help Him Overtake Brandon McManus
It takes a lot for a kicker to stand out in the pre-draft process. General manager Brian Gutekunst even jokingly put his arms up in an “It’s good” signal when SI’s Bill Huber asked him how he scouted kickers. But Smack’s big leg may have been the reason why the Packers gave up both of their seventh-round selections to make the move.
Smack was money from beyond 50 yards in his career, knocking down 10-of-13 attempts (76.9 percent) during his three seasons at Florida. Those FG attempts also came with some absolute bombs, including a career-long 56-yarder during the 2025 campaign and a 57-yarder during the East-West Shrine Bowl. Plain and simple, Smack possesses the type of range the Packers haven’t had in a while.
McManus has a decent leg, hitting a 61-yarder with the Denver Broncos in 2021, while owning a long of 56 yards with the Packers last season. But he wasn’t consistent from beyond 50 yards, hitting 51-of-90 attempts (56.6 percent) over his 12-year career.
Even Packers history has shown it’s difficult to find a reliable leg from long range. Mason Crosby had a career-long of 58 yards, which came during the 2011 season, but he only hit 44-of-80 attempts (55 percent) during his 17-year career.
Smack’s big leg could also come in handy, given the NFL’s current kickoff rules, which were installed last season. Touchbacks were moved to the 35-yard line, and a kick short of the landing zone within 20 yards of the end zone gave the opposing team the ball on their own 40-yard line. In each of those scenarios, a team could be in scoring range with a couple of first downs. A kicker who can consistently knock down long-range attempts could be a factor that swings a game in the Packers’ favor.
Of course, Smack will also have to prove he’s consistent. Lucas Havrisik hit a franchise-record 61-yard field goal last season but never overtook McManus due to his inconsistency. Smack’s intermediate game is also shakier than expected, and his 82.8 percent field goal conversion rate in college is similar to McManus’s career rate of 82.0 percent.
The fact that the Packers traded up for Smack should give him a leg up on the competition (no pun intended). His power should also give him an advantage, given what the Packers were missing with McManus. But it won’t matter unless he can put the ball through the uprights, and if he does it consistently from long range, Packers fans may finally get their wish for a change at kicker.
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