With the 2026 NFL Draft in the books, one big takeaway for the Green Bay Packers' rookie class was their concerted effort to upgrade from starting kicker Brandon McManus.
Although McManus is generally perceived as a reliable veteran, his rough performance in a Wild Card Weekend loss to the Chicago Bears has put his job in real jeopardy. The 34-year-old missed an extra point and two field goals amid the Packers' stunning collapse to their NFC North rival in a 31-27 defeat.
McManus could only sit back and watch on Day 3 of the draft as Green Bay spent a total of three picks to acquire his presumptive replacement.
Packers trade two seventh-round picks to draft Florida kicker Trey Smack & put Brandon McManus on the hot seat
Florida Gators kicker Trey Smack was widely viewed as the best at his position in this year's draft. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst didn't take any chances to wait for undrafted free agency, or even the seventh round, as he packaged two seventh-round picks (Nos. 236 and 255) to move up for Smack in Round 6.
It takes a lot of leg strength to weather Mother Nature's oft-inclement weather at Lambeau Field, and Smack has that in spades.
Trey Smack from 65 YARDS‼️@smack_trey 🚀 pic.twitter.com/gonZ9uk0A3
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) March 26, 2026
While it may take a bit of an adjustment period for Smack to get used to his new NFL digs after kicking bombs in the heat of Gainesville, he has the tools to be a Mason Crosby-esque Packers franchise staple.
Based on some of our in-house stats, McManus' woes extended far beyond his aforementioned playoff dud, which justifies the expenditures to score Smack with the 216th overall pick in the sixth round.
According to a cutting-edge metric masterminded by FanSided's Adam Fromal, dubbed Kick Value Added, the advanced data points to McManus as the NFL's worst kicker from last season. Among 45 qualifiers at his position, McManus ranked dead-last with a -11.4029 KVA figure.
For a little context and contrast, Ka’imi Fairbairn of the Houston Texans finished atop the league with a +15.4259 KVA for the 2025 campaign.
Quite the gap. If Smack can just be a borderline replacement-level kicker, Green Bay should feel a lot better about its placekicking unit in 2026. And that's putting it kindly.
Smack's proficiency from 50-plus yards (10-for-13) is most noteworthy. He also made 10 of his last 12 field goal tries from 40-49 yards for the Gators. That latter area is where McManus really struggled this past year, converting on only three of seven such attempts.
So much of kicking is psychological as it is physical. Despite McManus' strong track record in the pros, his confidence appeared to be shaken. Smack is eager for this next phase of his football career, and again, this all but spells the end of McManus' tenure despite Green Bay paying out his seven-figure bonus earlier this offseason.
The Packers paid Brandon McManus a $1,000,000 roster bonus in March - I was convinced he was their Kicker.
— Ken - Packers Cap (@KenIngalls) April 26, 2026
Now they traded up for Trey Smack - I’m now convinced McManus has no shot and the Packers will eventually turn him into their 12th scheduled 2027 draft pick.
McManus' contract runs through the 2027 season, but the Packers can release him this summer with a post-June 1 designation to save $2.6 million this year and $4.6 million against next year's salary cap.
As long as Smack lives up to the hype in training camp, there's a good chance McManus' end in Green Bay is nigh.
Add us as a preferred source on Google