San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody has been under fire this season. The Niners made a big swing by drafting him in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and that decision looks even more questionable now considering who was taken after him.
Kicker was a definite need for San Francisco following the 2022 season once it was clear that a reunion with legendary kicker Robbie Gould would be out of the cards. General manager John Lynch decided to fill the massive hole left by Gould by drafting Moody, who was a stand-out kicker during his time in college at Michigan.
There were definitely some raised eyebrows when the 49ers selected Moody so early, but ultimately it was accepted they needed a replacement.
Moody started off his NFL career making his first nine field-goal attempts. It looked like a wise move until he missed a 41-yard attempt against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6 that would have won the game.
He was a little shaky the rest of the season and was one of the big question marks on the team heading into the playoffs, but to his credit, he made some clutch kicks in last season's Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, although he did miss an extra point.
2024 has been another uneven season for Moody, however.
This season he has made 23 of his 30 field-goal attempts and has not looked as good since he missed several games with a high-ankle sprain.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan has still voiced confidence in Moody despite these struggles.
Nonetheless, fans are definitely not sold on the idea that Moody is the guy going forward for the Niners.
It is always easy to look back in retrospect and say what the 49ers should have done in past drafts, but Moody's struggles make it apparent that they could have improved the team in other areas.
Star wide receiver Puka Nacua was taken after Jake Moody
While Moody was selected in the third round of the 2023 draft with the 99th overall selection, star wide receiver Puka Nacua was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the fifth round with the 177th overall pick.
Nacua was a surprise rookie breakout star in 2023 with 1,486 receiving yards and six touchdown receptions. He has followed that up with another solid year in 2024 even though he has missed some time due to injury. In 11 games this season, he has 990 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions and is clearly the top target in LA's offense.
Obviously, there are no guarantees that Nacua would have seen a ton of playing time had San Francisco drafted him last season. Wide receiver is a position the 49ers were set at, but they did select Ronnie Bell in the seventh round, which did not pan out. It is hard not to imagine a different world in which the Niners selected Nacua and addressed the kicking issue either later in the draft or through free agency.
It is easy to second guess these decisions after they were made, but the decision to draft Moody so early in the 2023 NFL Draft just continues to look worse and worse.