Sebastian Janikowski was a magical kicker
By: Jeremy Trottier
Drafting a kicker in the first round”¦something that many teams had thought was left in the 1900s. Charlie Gogolak in 1966, Russell Erxleben in 1979, then 2000 happened, and we got a National Champion to the NFL Draft at the kicker position. Sebastian “Seabass” Janikowski, is the last kicker to be drafted in the first round, and the only one of which in the 2000s. With this, in this article, we will be doing a short collection of the legacy of Sebastian Janikowski, which cannot begin to cover the legacy he left for football.
A legend in the record books
Sebastian Janikowski is up in a tier with the premier kickers of all time, primarily that of Adam Vinatieri. Drafting a kicker in the first round paid off for the then Oakland Raiders, as they got one of the best special teamers ever to play the game, and he did everything in his power to make them better. Just to rattle off some accomplishments of his over his career:
- Raiders all-time leading scorer (1,799 points)
- Raiders all-time games played leader (268)
- Tied longest field goal ever at the time (63 yards)
- 2011 Pro bowler & 2nd team all-pro
- 2x Lou Graza award winner (best collegiate kicker, 1998 & 1999)
- BCS National Champion
- A longest field goal in OT (57 yards)
- Most 50+ yard field goals in a career (58)
- Most 50+ yard field goals in a game (3, tied)
Overall, there are very few kickers to accomplish what Sebastian did, and even fewer who were able to have the longevity he did, playing 18 seasons (19 years) from 2000-to 2018. However, one of his most notorious moments came on a rainy fall night in Denver, Colorado.
“It is”¦GOOD, He got it!”
As a Saints fan, we all knew the legend of Tom Dempsey, a kicker who nailed the first 63-yard kick ever overcoming a birth defect leaving him with no toes on his kicking foot. Then the Broncos had Jason Elam, the other kicker with a 63-yard field goal and one of the top kickers ever with 1,983 career points. Next? Sebastian Janikowski. I will let the kick do the talking.
The power kicker of the NFL finally did what he set out for, kicking the big one. Cementing his legacy in the NFL forever, likely putting himself into Hall of Fame consideration, and at the bare minimum becoming immortalized with the Oakland Raiders.
