Packers kicker Anders Carlson bounces back after early stuggles

Anders Carlson's trajectory since being drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round last April has been shaky. Those are all natural growing pains for a toolsy kicker, who failed to have consistency during his college career. During training camp and preseason, the concern in Green Bay was real. However, after four games into the regular season, Carlson has been the most stable player on the 53-man roster.

He converted all 14 kicks he has tried so far: five field goals, including two from 50 yards or longer, and nine extra points. It's a positive sign of how well he handles pressure, because the performance before the season raised justifiable questions.

If you followed Packers reporters and local fans on social media during training camp, you probably saw multiple posts every practice stating that Carlson had missed kicks. It's a daily occurrence, and some days were worse than others. Over the first week of camp, he missed 11 of 27 kicks. In preseason games, the rookie missed two extra points against the Cincinnati Bengals and another against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Packers showed patience, and they usually do, but general manager Brian Gutekunst expressed that the concern level could be higher if the mistakes were carried over to the regular season.

"No concerns right now," Gutekunst said at camp. "It is the National Football League, you have to perform at every position. At the same time, we went into this year knowing rookie kickers will have some struggles, with the thought process that there will be some patience."

The Packers know very well how young kickers can have ups and downs. Mason Crosby, for example, played 16 years in Green Bay. He didn't have a season with more than 80% of field goal conversion until his fifth year in the league. After that, he had seven seasons higher than 85% throughout his career, including a solid last season in 2022 with 86.2%.

Even throughout the most challenging times, Anders Carlson's silver lining was the comparisons to his brother, Daniel. He was drafted in the fifth round in 2018 by the Minnesota Vikings, and struggled early on. After two games, and misses against the Green Bay Packers, Daniel was released. He found a new home with the Raiders, and since has established himself as one of the best and most reliable kickers in the NFL. He's had three consecutive seasons with 90+% of field goals made.

The family connection was crucial for Anders to be in Green Bay. Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia helped recruit Daniel to Auburn, coached him in Las Vegas, and then advocated for Anders selection in this year's draft.

"A lot of what Daniel's doing with the Raiders, I would say he credits to Rich," said Anders after being selected. "I'm very excited with what I've heard about him and all he's doing."

And, while they are physically similar, Bisaccia is satisfied with where Anders' confidence level is. On Monday, the two brothers will face off for the first time in their NFL careers.

"Personality-wise, when Daniel first came to us (in Las Vegas), he had kind of gone through the shock of getting cut and some of those things. He had to refocus on his confidence, rebuild his confidence to the point of where he is. Anders is, at this point, a little stronger, six years in college at this point, and has more confidence earlier," Bisaccia said on Tuesday. "They're very similar, the ability to have a big leg and a big kick. Confidence-wise, probably where Daniel is now and where Anders is, that might be the same. The thing that's been good for Anders is that some of the difficulties that Daniel has had, Anders has had the opportunity to learn from."

Brotherhood has been an important tool for Anders. On Monday, he is going to have the opportunity to keep his consistency level against his brother's team, and that scenario is another challenge for a rookie still learning how the NFL works.