Vikings Select Alabama Kicker Will Reichard in Sixth Round of 2024 NFL Draft

The Vikings have selected Alabama kicker Will Reichard with the 203rd overall pick in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, making him the first kicker taken this year.

After letting Greg Joseph leave in free agency, the Vikings needed a new kicker. They signed former Virginia Tech and XFL standout John Parker Romo to a cheap deal in March, but that was just the first step of the plan to replace Joseph. Reichard, who is the third kicker the Vikings have drafted in the last 45 years (Blair Walsh in 2012 and Daniel Carlson in 2018), is the new favorite to win a competition against Romo and take over as Minnesota's kicker.

Reichard spent five seasons at Alabama. For his career, he went 84 of 100 on field goal attempts and 295 of 297 on extra points (which are shorter in the NCAA than they are in the NFL). He was the SEC special teams player of the year last season after making all 55 of his extra points and 22 of his 25 field goal attempts (88 percent). Notably, Reichard was 10 of 13 on attempts from 50-plus during his Alabama career — and 5 for 5 in 2023 on such kicks — although his career long was just 52 yards. He also had a strong touchback rate on kickoffs.

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The Vikings have been searching for a long-term answer at kicker for a while. They drafted Carlson in the fifth round in '18, but cut him after an awful game early in the season and have since watched him become a stud for the Raiders. Since then, Dan Bailey and Joseph have been the primary kickers, with mediocre results. Minnesota is hoping Reichard can be their guy at the kicker position for a long time.