Jason Sanders

Jason Thomas Sanders (born November 16, 1995) is an American football kicker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at New Mexico.

Jason Sanders
No. 7 – Miami Dolphins
Position:Kicker
Personal information
Born: (1995-11-16) November 16, 1995
Orange, California
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Villa Park (CA)
College:New Mexico
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 7 / Pick: 229
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Field goals made:77
Field goal attempts:89
Field goal %:86.5
Longest field goal:56
Touchbacks:178
Receiving Touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Sanders attended and played high school football at Villa Park High School.[1]

College career

Sanders attended and played college football at New Mexico from 2014–2017.[2] In his collegiate career, he converted 111-of-112 extra point attempts and 25-of-35 field goal attempts, with a career-long of 53 yards.[3][4]

Out of college, he was touted as the top pro kicking prospect in the country by renowned kicking coach Brent Grablachoff of Kicking World.[5]

Collegiate statistics
Jason Sanders
Year School Conf Class Pos G XPM XPA XP% FGM FGA FG% Pts
2014 New Mexico MWC FR K 5
2015 New Mexico MWC SO K 5 22 22 100.0 3 7 42.9 31
2016 New Mexico MWC JR K 13 61 62 98.4 12 13 92.3 97
2017 New Mexico MWC SR K 12 28 28 100.0 10 15 66.7 58
Career New Mexico 111 112 99.1 25 35 71.4 186

Professional career

Sanders was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round, 229th overall, of the 2018 NFL Draft.[6] He was one of two kickers to be drafted that year.[7] He was named the Dolphins starting kicker following the release of undrafted rookie Greg Joseph.[8] He made his NFL debut in the season opener against the Tennessee Titans. He converted all three field goal attempts and both extra point attempts in the 27–20 victory.[9] In Week 6, against the Chicago Bears, he converted the game-winning field goal in overtime.[10] In 16 games, Sanders made 18 of 20 field goals on the year, and this 90-percent field goal conversion rate was the fifth best in team history.[11] He also converted 35 of 36 extra point attempts. Despite missing out on the Pro Bowl in his first season, Sanders was named to the Pro Football Writers of America 2018 all-rookie team.[12]

In Week 10 of the 2019 season, Sanders converted all three field goals and an extra point, accounting for 10 points in a 16-12 win over the Indianapolis Colts, earning himself AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[13] In their Week 13 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sanders recorded his first career receiving touchdown when he caught a one-yard touchdown pass from punter Matt Haack in the 37–31 win. The play marked the NFL's first touchdown pass to a kicker since October 16, 1977.[14][15] Sanders won the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award for his performance.[16] In Week 14, against the New York Jets, Sanders converted on a franchise-record seven of eight field goal attempts in the 22–21 loss.[17] He was also named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for his play in December.[18] He finished the 2019 season with 29 of 30 extra point attempts converted and 23 of 30 field goal attempts converted.[19]

In Week 5 of the 2020 season against the San Francisco 49ers, Sanders was a perfect 5 for 5 on field goal attempts and 4 for 4 on extra point attempts (scoring a total of 19 points) during the 43–17 win. On October 14, 2020, Sanders was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Week 5.[20] He also earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October after converting all 18 of his kicks, scoring 40 points on 11 field goals and seven extra points.[21] He missed his first kick of the year in Week 10 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He was the last perfect kicker in the NFL. Sanders was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for his performance in November.[22] In Week 16, Sanders converted both extra point attempts and went 4-for-4 on field goals, including a 44-yard game winner in a 26–25 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[23]

References
  1. Wright, Rick (May 18, 2018). "Ex-Lobo, NFL hopeful Sanders picked the right ball to kick". ABQ Journal. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  2. "Jason Sanders College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  3. "Jason Sanders Career Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  4. McPherson, Jordan (April 28, 2018). "Who is Miami Dolphins seventh-round pick Jason Sanders?". Miami Herald. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  5. Grablachoff, Brent. "Jason Sanders Kicking World Hot Prospect profile". KickingWorld.com. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  6. Nogle, Kevin (April 28, 2018). "Miami Dolphins 2018 draft results: 7th round selection land Jason Sanders". ThePhinsider.com. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  7. "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  8. Gantt, Darin (August 31, 2018). "Dolphins settle kicking competition, go with Jason Sanders". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  9. "Tennessee Titans at Miami Dolphins - September 9th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  10. Poupart, Alain (October 14, 2018). "Jason Sanders' Walk-off Field Goal Beats Bears In OT". Miami Dolphins. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  11. Nogle, Kevin (January 15, 2019). "Dolphins land one on PFWA All-Rookie Team, one on All-AFC Team". www.thephinsider.com. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  12. Staley, Antwan (January 15, 2019). "Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders named to PFWA all-rookie team". Dolphins Wire. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  13. Bergman, Jeremy (November 13, 2019). "Jamal Adams, Jadeveon Clowney among Players of the Week". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  14. Boren, Cindy (December 1, 2019). "Dolphins pull off wackiest NFL trick play of the year, a punter-to-kicker touchdown". Washington Post. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  15. "Bag of tricks helps Dolphins rally past Eagles 37-31". www.espn.com. Associated Press. December 1, 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  16. Bergman, Jeremy (December 3, 2019). "Deshaun Watson, Jared Goff among Players of the Week". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  17. "Jason Sanders Sets Field Goal Record In Tough Loss To Jets". Miami Dolphins. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  18. "Drew Brees, Ryan Tannehill among Players of the Month". NFL.com. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  19. "Jason Sanders 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  20. Gordon, Grant. "Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, Steelers WR Chase Claypool among Players of the Week". National Football League. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  21. "Buccaneers QB Tom Brady, Titans RB Derrick Henry among Players of the Month for October". NFL.com. October 29, 2020.
  22. Gordon, Grant (December 4, 2020). "Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Vikings RB Dalvin Cook lead Players of the Month". www.nfl.com. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  23. Gordon, Grant (December 30, 2020). "Bills WR Stefon Diggs, Saints RB Alvin Kamara among Players of the Week". NFL.com.
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