Broncos kicker Brandon McManus nails a 73-yard field goal
Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus, with one of the biggest legs in the league, nailed a 73-yard field goal in practice…
If the Denver Broncos’ offense continues to struggle, at least we know they have Brandon McManus, who can almost score from anywhere on the field.
No, seriously.
McManus has always had a big leg, one that caused some — perhaps irrational — serious faith from Gary Kubiak last season, when he trotted out for a very long field goal in overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The conditions for that particular field goal were not ideal, and the kick was predictably missed. However, that doesn’t change the fact that McManus has a huge leg, and he showed it off by hitting from 73 yards away in practice, against a live defense.
Seventy-three.
Broncos K Brandon McManus nailed a 73 yard FG during practice today..... 73! (via @thekidmcmanus) pic.twitter.com/r98xayDxfW
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 4, 2017
The leg strength it takes to make this particular kick, even in the thin Mile High air, is incredible. McManus has been one of the best kickers in the NFL over the past two seasons, and is playing this year on an RFA tender.
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The Broncos will hopefully lock him up with a long-term contract sooner rather than later, especially if he proves himself capable of hitting from 60+ in actual game situations.
It wouldn’t surprise anyone to see the Broncos trot him out there for something like that, perhaps at the end of a half or at the end of a tie game. They have enough faith in their defense that most of the time, they would rather just punt the ball and play the field position game rather than risking McManus missing a long field goal like that.
At any rate, this is incredibly impressive. The Broncos have a very good young trio of specialists in McManus, punter Riley Dixon, and long snapper Casey Kreiter. Kreiter was seen at training camp a couple of days back hitting from 53-yards out on a drop-kick, and also punting the ball from one practice field to another at the Broncos’ facility.
These guys are very skilled, and could be a major factor in the Broncos’ playoff push for 2017.