Will the Thrill Got Snubbed

The 8-8 Minnesota Vikings have been consistently inconsistent in almost every aspect of the game this season except one: Will Reichard and the kicking game.

Reichard, who the fans lovingly call “

With the Pro Bowl festivities on the horizon and the rosters being dropped last Tuesday, the fact that the Vikings are sending zero participants is an outrage. That also means that Reichard, arguably the best kicker in the NFC, would miss, which is an injustice.

Brandon Aubrey made the Pro Bowl over Reichard in the NFC. Aubrey missed two crucial kicks against the Vikings when they played the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15. While Aubrey is known for his powerful leg and his ability to make 60-yard field goals look easy, the same argument could be made for Minnesota’s place kicker.

Statistically speaking, Reichard has not only been the better kicker this season but has been more reliable from longer distances. Reichard has the same number of makes from 50-plus out as Aubrey, with three fewer attempts.

Not only has Reichard been better than the current representative of the NFC, but he has been the best kicker in the NFC, and arguably the NFL. When looking at individual and team statistics at the kicker position this season, his dominance is astounding.

The Vikings have a higher field goal percentage than any other NFC team. They’re also tied with the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the most made from 50-plus with 11, and one of five NFC teams perfect on extra points.

Of players with over 30 FG attempts and 30 extra-point attempts, Reichard is one of only two players above 90% on FGs and is perfect on extra points. The other player, Ka’imi Fairbairn, plays for the Houston Texans in the AFC.

What these stats for this season also fail to show, but are important to highlight, is that Reichard holds the franchise record for the longest career FG at 62 yards.

According to Vikings fans, Reichard only missed one FG after the ball seemed to hit a wire on a 51-yard attempt in London.

He’s also the first player in NFL history with four FGs of 59 yards or more in one season.

If that's not enough for a Pro Bowl nod, the system needs to be fixed or altered to ensure the best players are included in the festivities.

Reichard should be getting more national attention for what he’s doing. His ability to hit field goals at a high clip in one season is, in itself, amazing. However, all placekickers strive to be this consistent in two consecutive seasons.

The sixth-round pick out of Alabama has a career 87.1W% success rate on FGs. He’s perfect inside 30 yards and has missed only five from beyond 50. He is also a perfect 68 for 68 on extra points.

Reichard also missed a few weeks last season due to a quad injury after a rare off-performance against the Indianapolis Colts, where he went 0-2 on FGs, yet 3-3 on extra points. He definitely did not look the same post-injury, missing four of his six total FG misses in the final five games of the regular season, meaning that all six of 2024’s FG misses came after his quad injury. Yet, he continued to be perfect on extra points.

With that sort of stat line, it is hard to argue that he will miss many more Pro Bowl opportunities, given his current trajectory.

The Vikings don’t have any Pro Bowlers this year, unless someone joins as an injury replacement. While players like Andrew Van Ginkel, Justin Jefferson, and Andrew DePaola have made great cases to make the Pro Bowl again this season, the greatest snub of them may just be the team's placekicker. Reichard's wait to be included may come to an end sooner rather than later. Still, the season he had this year is nothing but Pro Bowl-worthy.

The Pro Bowl may be nothing more than a popularity contest. However, I truly believe, if given the chance, Will Reichard could easily become the most reliable and beloved kicker the league has ever seen.