Buccaneers' Roberto Aguayo: Has rollercoaster rookie season

Aguayo finished the 2016 season with a 22-for-31 tally on field goals, as well as a 32-for-34 mark on extra-point attempts.

Analysis:

Aguayo was one of the more talked-about rookie kickers in recent memory, given his surprise second-round selection last spring. The FSU product endured the requisite ups and downs that seem to affect the majority of first-year players, except that the spotlight shone particularly bright on his mistakes given the individualistic nature of his position. There were definitely times when it looked like Aguayo had this NFL thing figured out -- such as a pair of separate three-game stretches when he was perfect on all his kicks -- but they would inevitably be followed by games with some confounding misses from fairly manageable distances. The 40-to-49-yard range seemed to particularly bedevil Aguayo, as he was only able to connect on four of 10 attempts from that area of the field. That particular statistical nugget might best crystallize what has to be the biggest concern for the soon-to-be second-year player and the Bucs alike; NFL teams eventually have no use for a kicker, regardless of draft position, that can't consistently convert from what is usually the most common range for field-goal attempts throughout the course of a season. A diligent worker by all accounts, Aguayo will undoubtedly focus on honing his accuracy throughout the offseason. However, the Bucs aren't going to let him cruise into the 2017 campaign without competition, already having inked former Liberty University kicker John Lunsford, who booted an NCAA-record 12 field goals of over 50 yards, to a futures contract on Jan. 4.