San Franciso 49ers kicker Jake Moody came into the NFL with a lot of hype. He was selected in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and that doesn’t happen very often for kickers. Kickers are typically late selections or undrafted free agents, but that’s how good Moody was in college. He was nearly automatic while playing under current Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, but last season was not kind to Moody.
Jake Moody went 23/25 on field goals during his first season as the starting kicker at Michigan, and he went 29/35 the next year. He also never missed an extra point while playing for the Wolverines. Moody had outstanding range as he hit a 59-yard field goal against TCU in the 2022 College Football Playoff, and he also had the clutch gene. Moody saved Michigan’s perfect season in 2022 with a last-second field goal to lift the Wolverines over Illinois.
Moody was as good as it gets in college, but he struggled mightily last year for the 49ers. His first season was solid as he went 21-25, but a 24-34 mark last year was not up to par. Moody especially struggled toward the end of the season as he was 1-5 in his final three games.
A lot of people are doubting Moody right now, but Jim Harbaugh saw the young kicker go through some similar stretches at Michigan, too. Moody always bounced back, and Harbaugh doesn’t expect that to change in the NFL.
“He’s a very steady, confident player in his ability,” Harbaugh said on Monday, according to a post from David Lombardi. “I’ve seen him miss a few and then come back and making 14, 17 straight. I can’t remember exactly what it was. Yeah, I would think that that is gonna repeat itself.”
Moody has shown that he can be an outstanding kicker, but it is a mental game. Kickers get hot, and kickers get cold. Moody has experienced it all throughout his career both in college and the pros, and like Harbaugh said, he has always done a good job of bouncing back.
Jake Moody hasn’t had a chance to bounce back from his cold streak yet as it happened at the end of the season. When a kicker is going through a phase like that, the offseason is sometimes the best possible thing that could happen. Moody has had a long time to put those misses behind him, and when the new season rolls around for the 49ers, he will have a fresh start and a perfect opportunity to bounce back.
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