Green Bay Packers sixth round draft pick, Anders Carlson, is certainly going to be one of the most focused on players as the team conducts their offseason programs. Not only is he being given Davante Adams’ old number 17, he is also going to be competing to become the successor of Mason Crosby, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. Some fans questioned the decision to move on from Crosby, himself a former sixth round draft pick. However, general manager Brian Gutekunst indicated that it was Rich Bisaccia who was the reason behind the decision to [apparently] move on from Crosby.
Green Bay Packers’ Rich Bisaccia Has Familiarity with Anders Carlson
Following the NFL Draft, Gutekunst was asked about the decision to draft Carlson, who made just 71.8% of his field goal attempts during his college career. He responded by crediting special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia’s past work with kickers and his personal history with Carlson:
““He (Carlson) was a kid that Rich (Bisaccia) has extensive experience with. He had his brother (Daniel Carlson) and had known him for quite a while. He struggled with some injuries over the past couple of years after a very promising start. So we felt good about where he was headed, and again, the relationship Rich had with him was a positive factor. The familiarity there helped.
“With kickers, Rich has a long track record and a very successful one, and I felt really good about how he felt about him.”
In 2020, before the injuries, Carlson made 20 of 22 field goal attempts, which led the SEC. His 410 career points scored are fifth most in SEC history.
There is certainly something to be said about Bisaccia’s work with kickers. In his first year as the Packers’ special teams coordinator, he helped Crosby improve from 73.5% accuracy in 2021 to 86.2% in 2022. Bisaccia also helped Carlson’s brother Daniel (who was First Team All-Pro last season) improve on his accuracy as well. In Daniel Carlson’s first full season with the Raiders, he made just 73.1% of his field goal attempts. In 2020 and 2021, he made 93.6% of his field goal attempts, leading the NFL in both attempts and made kicks in 2021 (40/43).
Of course, it is somewhat sad to see the Mason Crosby era coming to an end. However, he has lost some power in his leg, especially on kickoffs. Some wondered in the Packers were going to need a kickoff specialist due to Crosby’s inability to get kicks into the end zone anymore. 53-man rosters can get crowded very quickly, and it just does not make sense for the Packers (or any team) to carry two kickers. Unfortunately, it is time to move on.
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