Who Should I Start? Dustin Hopkins or Jake Moody

Saturday, January 4, 9:58 PM

Cleveland Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins made his lone field-goal attempt, a 23-yarder, and added an extra point in a 35-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18. Although Hopkins finished a tough 2024 season on a high note, he overall made just 18 of his 27 field-goal attempts for the Browns this past season. The veteran kicker still has three years remaining on the contract extension he signed before the season, although it wouldn't be a big surprise to see the Browns bring in some competition in training camp next year. That being said, an offseason release would bring a significant cap hit and dead money for the Browns which makes it likely that Hopkins is back with the team for the 2025 season.

Wednesday, April 2, 1:20 PM

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said this week that the team plans to bring in a veteran kicker "who's capable of taking that job" to compete with Jake Moody this offseason. The 49ers would love to see Moody win the competition and come out motivated for a strong season in 2025 after struggling through a high-ankle sprain in 2024. The 25-year-old made just 70.6 percent of his 34 field-goal attempts in 14 games (4-for-9 from 50-plus yards) in his second year in the NFL after making 84 percent of his 25 field-goal tries in his rookie year. The former third-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft out of the University of Michigan certainly has the skills to bounce back in 2025 if he's healthy, and if he does, he should be in play as a top-12 fantasy kicker.