NFL to get kick out of the FCS

Published Apr. 26, 2016 12:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

(STATS) - It's a big year for place-kickers and punters hoping to jump from the FCS to the NFL.

Literally.

Gone are the days of the 5-foot-8, 160-pounders. The top prospects among the punters and place-kickers now have terrific size.

Although none may be drafted this week - very few are at those two positions - CBS Sports still gives seventh-round grades to Sam Houston State punter Lachlan Edwards, who stands 6-4, 209 pounds, and Liberty long-range place-kicker John Lunsford, who is 6-1, 214.

Delaware's Eric Enderson (6-2, 212), who made an early entry into the draft following his junior season, and North Dakota State's Ben LeCompte (5-10, 199), who earned STATS FCS First Team All-America honors as a senior, are other punters on the NFL radar.

"You've got guys that, like, run 4.2, 4.3 40s and then you've got guys as big as a barn, and you've got guys that throw the ball 60-plus yards," Lunsford said. "But then you put a ball in front of them to kick and they can't kick it three yards, 10 yards. Kickers are a special breed."

Numerous FCS players are expected to sign free-agent contracts if they go undrafted. That is generally the route for a kicker or punter.