One of the Chargers' big storylines over the past decade-plus has been their poor special teams, and recently, their kicking has become the forefront of that issue.
In 2020, then-kicker Michael Badgley hit just 24 of 33 of his field goals, missing several down the stretch of the season that cost the Bolts games.
In response to that, the Chargers moved onto kicker Dustin Hopkins, who they later dealt to the Cleveland Browns, as he lost his job to current starting kicker Cameron Dicker.
"Dicker the Kicker" has been excellent since arriving in LA, as the UT Austin product has a 95.5% field goal percentage rate, along with a 100% extra-point rate.
In response to his success thus far, special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken had this to say (per Omar Navarro of Chargers.com):
"He's Steady Eddie. Very consistent in his approach. Not just in the games but out in practice, he's a professional. Whether it's a 58-yarder, 55-yarder or a PAT, he has the same mindset and he's going to approach every kick the same way."
Safe to say for Chargers fans, seemingly having found a franchise kicker is a big box to check off given their history of poor kicking, untimely misses, and high turnover rate at the position.
As with most franchises in the NFL that find year-over-year success (Baltimore, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Philadelphia), having an elite kicker that you can keep around for years gives your team a solid advantage, as you'll hardly leave points on the board and possess far more confidence in kicking from most distances.
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