The NFL is often referred to as “Not For Long,” a reminder of the league’s fast-paced nature. On Saturday afternoon, the Green Bay Packers exemplified this by trading two seventh-round picks to secure the final selection in the sixth round, choosing Florida kicker Trey Smack.
Smack became the first kicker to be picked in this year’s draft. Given that teams generally don’t draft kickers to release them soon after, it’s highly likely Smack will take over from current kicker Brandon McManus by 2026.
“It’s a surreal feeling,” Smack shared, clearly still processing the news. “I still got the shakes a little bit. I’m like, wow, is this really happening right now? It’s an amazing feeling.”
Over his last three seasons at Florida, Smack demonstrated his kicking prowess, successfully making 53 out of 64 field goal attempts (82.8%) and converting 100 out of 101 extra point tries. Impressively, he was 10 for 13 on field goals from beyond 50 yards (76.9%) and managed 24 out of 32 from over 40 yards (75.0%).
Smack was the first kicker selected in. this year’s draft. And considering teams don’t use draft picks on kickers to cut them, Smack will almost certainly replace incumbent Brandon McManus in 2026.
“It’s a surreal feeling,” Smack said. “I still got the shakes a little bit. I’m like wow is this really happening right now? It’s an amazing feeling.”
During his last three years at Florida, Smack made 53 of 64 field goals (82.8%) and 100 of 101 extra points. He was also 10 of 13 from beyond 50 yards (76.9%) and 24 of 32 from outside of 40 yards (75.0%).
Smack’s career long was 56 yards.
“If Coach wants to send me out there for a 63-yarder, I’m not gonna back down and be like ‘No, I can’t make that,’ ” Smack said. “We’ll be realistic. There will be some days where there’s a heavy wind and I’ll have to say, ‘Hey, I’m good from 55 here.’ There’s some days where I’ll just be like, ‘Hey, I think I’m good from 60-plus.’ ”
One year ago, it looked like McManus would be Green Bay’s kicker for the foreseeable future. McManus made 20-of-21 field goals and all 30 of his extra points during the 2024 regular season (95.2%), then signed a three-year, $15.3 million deal.
But McManus had a rough 2025.
Of kickers with at least 20 field goal attempts last year, McManus ranked a disappointing 24th in field goal percentage (80.0%, 24-of-30). McManus then missed both of his field goals attempts and an extra point during the Packers’ playoff meltdown vs. Chicago that ended with a 31-27 loss.
“Obviously Trey was the highest-rated kicker we had on our board,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Gotta give our scouting department a ton of props, a ton of credit, man. They really worked hard. I thought they did an outstanding job. Obviously it’s a position that’s important when you’re talking about scoring points in this league and just like any other position, you can never have enough competition.”
