NFL Draft: Buffalo Bills K Tyler Bass (Georgia Southern) injury analysis

A field goal kicking competition is set to start this offseason between veteran K Stephen Hauschka and newly drafted K Tyler Bass out of Georgia Southern. The big-legged kicker comes to Buffalo as an All-Sun Belt conference selection and Senior Bowl participant. He has demonstrated the ability to blast 50- and 60-yard field goals with relative ease as seen in the video below.

On top of that, Bass was also injury-free during his time at Georgia Southern. He appeared in 50 games and made 54 FG’s on 68 attempts, good for a 79.41%. He was able to convert 114 extra points on 115 attempts, missing only once in his freshman season. He has a career long 50-yard field goal and only two blocked kicks. He has also tried his hand at punting and two-point conversions. Finally, he was able to get a few tackles here and there on kickoff, indicating he’s not one to shy away from contact.

As a kicker, he did not typically see the field besides kickoff, field goals, and extra point attempts, which reduced his injury risk to nearly zero. As one would guess, kickers don’t typically suffer injuries but they are certainly at risk for groin and quadriceps strains due to the nature of the kicking motion.

Bass comes in healthy and hungry against an aging Hauschka who really hasn’t been the same kicker since his back injury in 2018 as a result of New York Jets DE Henry Anderson’s hit. While Bass has health, Hauschka has experience not only in big games but in the brutal winds at New Era field. It’s too early to tell whether Bass will win the starting job, but he should certainly have a chance.