The Florida Gators were likely to see positive movement on day three of the 2018 NFL Draft, and that was certainly the case with receiver Antonio Callaway (Cleveland Browns) and punter Johnny Townsend (Oakland Raiders) officially off the market.
However, kicker Eddy Pineiro, who was slated to come off the board at any point during day three of the festivities in Arlington, Texas, went undrafted and just agreed to terms on a free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders, reuniting him with Johnny Townsend.
Pineiro released the news on his Twitter account Saturday evening.
There was a sign of hope in the seventh round when the Miami Dolphins were on the clock, but Pineiro's hometown team opted to go in another direction by drafting kicker Jason Sanders of New Mexico.
Following two years on the junior college level, Pineiro arrived at Florida as a sophomore in 2016 and played two seasons for the Gators. In that short time, Pineiro went 56-58 on PATs (96.6%) and 38-43 (88.4%) on field goals. In total, he racked up 170 points in his two years at Florida.
Eddy also holds two school records. The 88.4 field goal percentage is best in Gators history, and he is also just one of two players to go on two separate strings of making at least 13 consecutive field goals.
Pineiro plays a position that doesn’t get looked at very much for the draft. However, Eddy is the second best kicker in this draft behind Auburn's Daniel Carlson. We saw FSUs Roberto Aguayo go in the second round in his draft, and that didn’t work out too well for the Bucs or Aguayo, but it shows that kickers are valued.
A former three-star prospect on Rivals, Pineiro arrived in Gainesville after making national headlines for his kicking power at ASA College in Miami. Pineiro, who officially visited the Gators in November of 2015, possessed additional offers from Alabama, Miami and Georgia among others.
Pineiro, who played just one season of high school football, initially committed to the Crimson Tide before opting to stay put in the Sunshine State. In high school, Pineiro was also a four-time All-Dade County selection in soccer, and actually signed with Florida Atlantic to play the sport, but ended up at ASA after failing to meet the academic requirements with the Owls.
Pineiro graded out as a 5.15 prospect according to NFL.com, with a “better than average chance to make an NFL roster.”
GT's Michael Phillips contributed to this article.
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Breakdown of Eddy Pineiro from NFL.com:
"Pineiro has just two seasons of collegiate kicking, but his consistency and accuracy from 50-plus yards will immediately open NFL eyes. Pineiro's ability to handle kickoff duties and bang touchbacks only strengthen his cause."
NFL.com Comparison:
Bill Gramatica
