The Jaguars exited the 2024 NFL draft with nine new contributors, bolstering their roster with potential after signing eight free agents between March and April in their offseason-long effort to reclaim postseason status this year.
How impactful might Jacksonville’s rookie class be as the team chases a playoff spot?
Jaguars Wire is projecting roles and rookie production for each of Jacksonville’s 2024 draft picks, continuing the series by focusing on the Jaguars’ sixth-round, No. 212 overall selection, kicker Cam Little.
Cam Little’s projected role with the Jaguars
A combination of injuries, lackluster play and expenses (the Jaguars have attributed the latter two factors to Brandon McManus’ March free agency exit, rather than the active lawsuit filed against him and the team) has led Jacksonville to trot nine different kickers out for various kick attempts since the 2020 season.
Barring injury, Little will become the 10th come Week 1 in September.
He’ll face training camp competition from Riley Patterson, the Jaguars’ 2022 starting kicker, who rejoined the team in February. But considering the draft capital Jacksonville invested in Little and that the team moved on from Patterson a year ago, the rookie is in the driver’s seat on the road to the starting role.
Jaguars assistant general manager Ethan Waugh described Little as a kicker with not only intriguing talent, but also great confidence, an important intangible that he looks for when scouting the position.
“Reliability, accuracy, and obviously the ability to, not just kick-off, but kickoff with some of the different kicks that may be required with the new rules,” Waugh said about Little’s skill set in May.
“He’s a really young guy but it’s not too big for him. He’s a confident kid … Inevitably you’re going to miss a kick at some point in your NFL career, and do you have the resilience to bounce back from that and go out and hit the next one? I think that’s the biggest thing. We feel like we found that in Cam.”
Cam Little’s projected rookie stats
- 24-of-29 on field goal attempts
- 82.8% field goal percentage
- 56-yard long field goal
An 82.8% field goal percentage would rank No. 6 among rookie kickers who posted 10+ attempts in their debut season since 2021 (10-of-16 kickers who attempted a field goal or extra point qualify). 24 conversions would rank No. 4 and 29 attempts would rank No. 5.
