There are always a few undrafted free agents who manage to earn spots on either the 53-man roster or practice. Which undrafted free agent is most likely to make his way to the New York Giants’ 53-man roster in 2026?
When I put that question to Nick Baumgardner, draft analyst for The Athletic, during a recent ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast, I received an interesting answer.
Dominic Zvada, the former Michigan placekicker.
“Dominic Zvada from Michigan was one of the kickers who I thought had a chance to be
drafted,” Baumgardner said. “Big 10 kicker of the year in 2024. Wasn’t as good last year. missed a few more I think, but I think he only missed one field goal in 2024 and they used him a ton. So he is really good. He would be one that I wouldn’t be surprised.
“I don’t know exactly what their kicking situation is there, but he is a very good player. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s someone who makes some noise.”
Crowded is one way to describe the Giants’ current placekicking situation. Seemingly talented might be another.
The Giants have Ben Sauls, the left-footer out of Pittsburgh who steadied the Giants’ turbulent placekicking situation by going 8 of 8 on field-goal attempts and 7 of 7 on extra points over the final three games of the 2025. Sauls’ longest kick was a 48-yard extra point. Sauls, though, was 5 of 6 on field-goal attempts from beyond 50 yards in his final season at Pitt. So, he has the leg for the long kicks. Sauls will be just 25 this season.
New York signed veteran kicker Jason Sanders during the offseason. Sanders was a First-Team All-Pro will the Miami Dolphins in 2020. In seven seasons with the Dolphins, Sanders made 84.2% of his field-goal attempts. He was 33 of 48 (68.8%) and 55 of 70 (78.6%) from 40-49 yards.
The question about Sanders is health. The 30-year-old missed all of last season with a hip injury, and the Giants need to see if he is healthy and if the hip injury has had any impact on his effectiveness. The Giants gave Sanders a one-year contract with just $300,000 in guaranteed money, so they neither guaranteed him the job nor made a big financial commitment.
Enter Zvada.
There is obvious talent there, with Dane Brugler of The Athletic giving him a draftable grade in his 2026 NFL Draft Guide. There is also a four-year collegiate resume showing wild ups and downs.
- In 2022 at Arkansas State, Zvada made 17 of 18 field-goal attempts (94.4%).
- In 2023 at Arkansas State, Zvada made just 15 of 20 field-attempts (75%).
- In 2024 at Michigan, his best season, Zvada made 17 of 18 field-goal attempts (94.4%). He was also 7 of 7 from beyond 50 yards that season.
- In 2025, though, Zvada was just 15 of 22 (68.2%) on field-goal attempts.
For his career, he went 64 of 78 (82.4%) on field-goal attempts, 135 of 137 on extra points (98.5%) and 10 of 12 83.3%) on field-goal tries from beyond 50 yards.
In those two down seasons, Zvada was only 8 of 13 (61.5%) from between 30 and 39 yards. Why the volatile year-to-year swings?
The Giants appear to be intrigued by the upside, and perhaps willing to see if they can smooth out the inconsistencies.
“He had some issues last year on the short kicks, but he has got a massive leg,” Baumgardner said. “And I’m always with the kickers I’m usually it’s like if the guy’s got a giant leg, I’ll I think we can work with that. We’ll figure out maybe how to make him more consistent from 40 on in, but I’ll take the giant leg over anything else.”
The Giants’ placekicking situation was a mess the last three seasons as they continued to rely on a perennially-injured Graham Gano and then get caught short when the veteran kicker suffered what became an annual rash of injuries.
That, obviously, is not going to happen in 2026. Will they actually bring three placekicker to training camp? Could Zvada actually end up with the job?
It is certainly going to be interesting.
