Buccaneers rookie kicker, a second-round pick, has a rough start

Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie kicker Roberto Aguayo might go on to have an all-time great career and we’ll laugh about how it started.

But when you draft a kicker in a second round, you don’t want to see him miss his first career kick.

After Jameis Winston threw a nice touchdown pass in the first quarter of the Buccaneers’ preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, Aguayo came on for the extra point. There had to be some nerves, although he said he’s never nervous for a kick. But it was his first time trying an NFL kick, preseason or not, and that’s a lot to process.

And he just missed it. Hit the left upright. 0-for-1.

Jameis Winston ???? Russell Shepard.
26-yard TD!

Rookie Roberto Aguayo's PAT? NO good. #TBvsPHI https://t.co/BDMJmIiInw

— NFL (@NFL) August 11, 2016

Aguayo was 198-of-198 on extra-point attempts at Florida State. Go figure.

Aguayo did make his first field-goal attempt, hitting a 38-yarder in the fourth quarter.

That miss doesn’t matter all that much, of course, because it came in the preseason and doesn’t count. But it’s not what you want to see after you make the very questionable decision of drafting a kicker in the second round — wait, of trading up in the draft to take a kicker in the second round. There’s good reason that doesn’t happen too often (only four kickers have been selected in the second round or higher the past 25 years). Then Aguayo’s kickoff after his missed extra point wasn’t deep enough to be a touchback and was returned by the Eagles to their own 34-yard line.

Nobody expected Aguayo to make every kick or boom every kickoff through the end zone. But the draft position puts a little more pressure on him than most kickers. And this wasn’t the start anyone was looking for.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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