Chargers have found their kicker of the future

Gone are the days of holding your breath or turning away when the Chargers go to attempt a field goal. Michael Badgley is the kicker of the future for the Chargers. He knows it:

“The standard’s been set,” Badgley said. “You’ve got to go off of that, and you’ve got to get better from that. So whatever numbers you put out there, try to beat them and be your best competitor. I look in the mirror every morning and say, ‘Who are you going to be? You going to be better than you were last year? You going to be better than you were yesterday?’ It’s just one of those situations where like I always say, you go one kick at a time and do the best you can.”

For Badgley to be able to perform at the level he did as a rookie is incredibly promising. It’s somewhat surprising how a guy that made over 90% of his kick during his first year was not wanted by anyone in the NFL. It’s not a surprise that Badgley went undrafted, as he’s a kicker. Him not being able to stick on a roster, knowing how many teams struggle with kicking, was a surprise.

Badgley spoke on the mindset he had to have:

“You keep a competitive mindset even though you know the situation,” he explained. “I went to there thinking I’ve got to do as well as I can, and you never know who’s watching the film that you’re creating. You kind of just took it for what it was worth. Go in there and try to make every kick you can, get some good game film, work well in practice. Being around a guy like Vinatieri, you take as much as you can in from him. It was just one of those situations that you knew he was going to be their guy, but I knew I had to take full advantage of it.”

Learning from a veteran had to help. Not just on the field, but preparation. It worked. Now, the Chargers have their guy.