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3 reasons why Buccaneers aren't crazy for drafting a kicker in Round 2

Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

"With the 59th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select kicker Roberto Aguayo, Florida State."

The Bucs actually traded up to draft a kicker in the second round of the draft, everyone on Twitter laughed, Rich Eisen erupted with glee on the NFL Network set, and Sports Illustrated gave the pick an F-grade accompanied with a picture of someone who clearly isn't Aguayo.

The move marked the first time a kicker has gone in the first two rounds since Mike Nugent in 2005, and was widely panned as the dumbest move of the draft.

Fear not Bucs fans, not only was the decision to draft Aguayo certainly not the dumbest move of the draft, but here's three reasons why it was actually smart.

Roberto Aguayo isn't your regular college kicker

The definition of a kicker's job is to make field goals. Aguayo not only does this quite well, he does it better than anybody who has played college football. He never missed a kick inside 40 yards during his time at Florida State. That's a remarkable 46-for-46 on field goals and 198-for-198 on extra points. His senior season saw him make eight of his nine attempts between 40-49 yards, and nail his only kick from 50-plus yards. He is really, really good.

The kicking game has never been more important in the NFL

The league's decision to move the extra point back to a 33-yard try has placed an emphasis on the kicking game previously unseen. Only four teams hit all of their extra points in the regular season. You don't have to be a math professor to notice that 33 yards is less than 40, which means Aguayo will never ever miss an extra point in his career, guaranteed. Another area the Florida State product will help is in kickoffs. With the new rule bringing a touchback to the 25-yard line starting in 2016, his ability to launch kicks with a ton of hangtime inside the 10-yard line will be a huge weapon.

The Buccaneers' kicking game is awful

Tampa Bay's kicking game was atrocious in 2015, finishing 30th in the league with a dismal 72.5 conversion rate on field goals. Kyle Brindza began the season as the starter and promptly missed six of his 12 attempts, and two of his eight extra points. A particularly egregious performance was missing 10 points worth of kicks in a 19-9 loss to the Houston Texans. Connor Barth took over, and was an improvement, but graded out as nothing better than a league-average kicker. Aguayo is a massive upgrade over the current roster of kickers, which is kind of the point of a draft.

Is it a risk to draft a kicker in the second round? Certainly, but a player with Aguayo's talent doesn't come along every year. Tampa Bay addressed a massive area of need, which is what the draft is used for. One player detractors will be keeping an eye on though is cornerback Cyrus Jones. The New England Patriots drafted the Alabama standout with the pick right after Aguayo. For a team that gave up the fourth-most passing touchdowns last season, the Bucs definitely could have used the pick on a shutdown defensive back.

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