The Green Bay Packers were mocked for drafting a kicker, but Trey Smack has already given them a reason to think the move might matter. He has not played a down in the NFL, yet his preseason leg has been strong enough to make the Packers’ kicking job look different heading into Week 1.
That matters because kickers can swing seasons, and Green Bay has not had an average one since Mason Crosby. A sixth-round pick on a kicker starts to look reasonable if the player can turn long attempts into points, and the Packers have had too many years in which that part of the roster has been a problem instead of a strength.
Smack’s best proof came in Denver and Pittsburgh, where he put on a show in preseason. He hit two 58-yard field goals in Pittsburgh, though one came off the board because of a penalty. Those kinds of kicks do not just pad a stat line. They change the math of what an offense can try, because a kicker who can get from 50 yards and beyond gives a team more real scoring chances and less need to lean on low-percentage Hail Mary plays.
The larger point is not that Green Bay has found a finished product. It is that the Packers may finally have a chance to get to average, which would be a meaningful step after years of instability. Daniel Whelan has basically solved the punting issue, so if the kicking side becomes reliable too, special teams can become a net positive for the first time in ages. That is a much bigger deal than the league often admits, because one missed kick can erase a good day.
There is still a catch. Smack’s preseason power came in exhibition settings, not in the grind of NFL games, and the regular season is where timing, pressure and repeatability start to matter. Brandon McManus, who has the job now, missed a PAT and a makeable field goal in a playoff game last year, which is the kind of reminder that even a veteran can make Green Bay pay in the biggest moments. Smack has the leg. The unanswered question is whether that leg holds when the kicks count for real.
For the Packers, the test comes immediately against the Vikings in Week 1. If Smack can bring even average production into the season, Green Bay’s special teams picture changes fast, and the ridicule over drafting a kicker starts to look like an overreaction instead of a verdict.
