The Patriots just drafted a kicker for the third time in five years
If there was one team that was definitely going to draft a kicker this year, it was the New England Patriots. Going into the draft, the Patriots had exactly ZERO placekickers on their roster, but they now have one after selecting Andres Borregales in the sixth round (182nd overall).
The Miami kicker, who was voted first-team All-ACC in each of the past two seasons, was widely viewed as the top player available at his position this year. Borregalas was nearly perfect in 2024, hitting 18 of 19 field goals with a long of 56 yards. His 94.7% conversion rate was tied for the fifth best in the FBS. During his four years at Miami, Borregalas drilled 86.0% of his field goals (74 of 86), and if he can hit that number in 2025, the Patriots would likely be thrilled after struggling to find a reliable kicker over the past two seasons.
Last year, the Patriots turned to veteran Joey Slye, but he struggled, hitting just 78.8% of his field goals. In 2023, the Patriots handed the job over to rookie Chad Ryland, who lost his job after a rookie season where he hit just 64% of his field goals.
If there’s one big question with Borregalas, it has to do with how he’ll kick once he has to play in cold weather. During his career with the Hurricanes, Borregalas never really had to kick in a sub-freezing game and that can be a difficult adjustment for some kickers, so if he ends up getting the job, the Patriots will likely be watching him closely once the calendar hits November.
For his part, Borregalas does seem excited about the chance to kick in the elements after watching Patriots legend Adam Vinatieri do it for so many seasons.
“All my life, I looked up to Adam Vinatieri. Legend,” Borregales said, via ESPN. “All those clutch kicks in the snow. I can’t wait to experience that. I know a lot of people thought that me being from Miami, that I can’t handle the cold. I think I can prove people wrong about that.”
This marks the third time in five years that the Patriots have selected a kicker in the draft and they’ll be hoping that Borregales works out better than their previous two picks. In 2020, the Patriots used a fifth-round pick on Justin Rohrwasser, who didn’t end up playing in a single game for New England. In 2023, they brought in Ryland, and he struggled during his lone season with the team. However, he did bounce back and have an impressive year with the Cardinals in 2024.
As for Borregalas, he’s the first kicker from Miami to be drafted since the Chargers selected Carlos Huerta back in 1992.
