Daniel Carlson
refer to caption
Carlson with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021
No. 2 – Las Vegas Raiders
Position:Placekicker
Personal information
Born: (1995-01-23) January 23, 1995 (age 29)
Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school:The Classical Academy
(Colorado Springs, Colorado)
College:Auburn (2013–2017)
NFL Draft:2018 / Round: 5 / Pick: 167
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
NFL Record
  • Most 50+ field goals in a season: 11 (2022)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2023
Field goals made:169
Field goals attempted:192
Field goal %:88.0
Longest field goal:57
Touchbacks:286
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Daniel Vilhelm Carlson (born January 23, 1995) is an American football placekicker for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn, where he became the SEC's all-time leading scorer and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Released by Minnesota during his rookie season, Carlson joined the Raiders and has twice led the league in scoring. He is currently the fifth most accurate kicker in the NFL.[1]

Early years

Carlson was born on January 23, 1995, to Hans and Jodie Carlson. Carlson has an older brother named Nils and a younger brother Anders who currently is the kicker for the Green Bay Packers.[2]

Carlson attended The Classical Academy before college.[3]

College career

Under head coach Gus Malzahn, Carlson never missed an extra point in his collegiate career with the Auburn Tigers.[4] He was the all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Conference (SEC) football history with 480 career points until passed by Will Reichard of Alabama in 2023. He was a three time member of the All SEC Team First Team.[5][6]

College statistics

Year School Conf Class Pos G Kicking Punting
XPM XPA XP% FGM FGA FG% Pts Punts Yds Avg
2014 Auburn SEC FR K 13 57 57 100.0 18 24 75.0 111 8 317 39.6
2015 Auburn SEC SO K 13 40 40 100.0 23 27 85.2 109 0 0
2016 Auburn SEC JR K 13 44 44 100.0 28 32 87.5 128 0 0
2017 Auburn SEC SR K 14 57 57 100.0 23 31 74.2 126 0 0
Career Auburn 198 198 100.0 92 114 80.7 474 8 317 39.6

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span
6 ft 5+1⁄4 in
(1.96 m) 		213 lb
(97 kg) 		32 in
(0.81 m) 		9+3⁄4 in
(0.25 m)
All values from NFL Combine[7]

Minnesota Vikings

Carlson was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round (167th overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.[8] He was one of two kickers to be drafted that year, the other being Jason Sanders by the Miami Dolphins.[9]

In the offseason, he competed with veteran kicker Kai Forbath. Carlson won the job, and Forbath was released by the team on August 20, 2018.[10] He made his NFL debut in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers and converted all three extra point attempts and one field goal attempt.[11] On September 16, 2018, in a game against the Green Bay Packers, Carlson missed one field goal in regulation and two in overtime, resulting in a 29–29 tie.[12] The following day, Carlson was waived and replaced by veteran Dan Bailey.[13]

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

Carlson playing for the Oakland Raiders in 2019

Carlson was signed by the Oakland Raiders on October 23, 2018, after the team released fellow rookie kicker Matt McCrane.[14] In his Raiders' debut in Week 8, he converted all four extra point attempts in a 42–28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.[15] In Week 11, Carlson made two extra points and three field goals, including a 35-yard game winner as time expired, in a 23–21 win over the Arizona Cardinals, earning him American Football Conference (AFC) Special Teams Player of the Week.[16]

Carlson went on to convert 94% of his field goal attempts for the Raiders in 2018, setting a new team record.[17]

On April 16, 2020, Carlson was re-signed to a one-year contract.[18] During the 2020 offseason, Carlson switched his jersey number from 8 to 2 in order to allow quarterback Marcus Mariota to wear number 8.[19] In Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers, Carlson was a perfect 4 for 4 on his extra point and field goal attempts, including a career long 54-yard field goal, during the 34–30 win. He was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Week 1.[20] Carlson was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for his performance in December.[21]

The Raiders placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Carlson on March 17, 2021.[22] He signed the tender on April 29.[23] In Week 2, Carlson converted all four field goal attempts and both extra-point attempts in a 26–17 win over the Steelers, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[24] In Week 12 on Thanksgiving Day, Carlson went 3–3 on extra points and 5–5 on field goals in a 36-33 Raiders victory over the Dallas Cowboys, including a career-long 56-yarder to take a late lead in the 4th quarter and a 29-yarder to win the game in overtime.[25] His Thanksgiving Day performance earned him another AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor, a feat only two other kickers had achieved at that point in the season.

On December 9, 2021, Carlson signed a four-year, $18.4 million extension with the Raiders, making him the third highest-paid kicker in the NFL.[26][27]

Down the stretch of the 2021 season, Carlson's kicking performance would become crucial for the Raiders. In week 15 against the Cleveland Browns, Carlson would make all three of his field goal attempts, the last of which being a 48-yard field goal that won the game for the Raiders.[28] In week 17 against the Indianapolis Colts, Carlson successfully converted all three of his field goal attempts and both of his extra-point attempts to account for 11 of the 23 points the Raiders scored in the contest, including the game-winning field goal.[29] Carlson's performance in week 17 tied him with Nick Folk for the league lead in field goals made and field goals attempted in the 2021 season.[30] In Week 18, Carlson made five field goals in the final game of the 2021 regular season against the Los Angeles Chargers, including a game-winning 47-yard attempt as time expired in overtime. The Raiders would go on to clinch a playoff spot and eliminate the Chargers from playoff contention.[31]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Led the league
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP Field Goals Extra Points Points
FGA FGM Lng Pct XPA XPM Pct
2018 MIN 2 4 1 48 25.0 6 6 100.0 9
OAK 10 17 16 50 94.1 18 18 100.0 66
2019 OAK 16 26 19 48 73.1 36 34 94.4 91
2020 LV 16 35 33 54 94.3 47 45 95.7 144
2021 LV 17 43 40 56 93.0 33 30 90.9 150
2022 LV 17 37 34 57 91.9 36 35 97.2 137
2023 LV 17 30 26 54 86.7 32 32 100.0 110
Career 95 192 169 57 88.0 208 200 96.2 707

Postseason

Year Team GP Field Goals Extra Points Points
FGA FGM Lng Pct XPA XPM Pct
2021 LV 1 4 4 47 100.0 1 1 100.0 13
Career 1 4 4 47 100.0 1 1 100.0 13

Personal life

Carlson is a Christian.[32] Carlson married Katherine Barker on January 13, 2018, in Birmingham, Alabama. The two met during their time at Auburn.[33] They have two children.[34]

References

  1. ^ "NFL Field Goal % Career Leaders (since 1938)". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  2. ^ Marshall, Phillip (July 16, 2017). "A kicker's story: How Daniel Carlson found greatness at Auburn". AuburnUndercover. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  3. ^ Kaniewski, Scott (July 10, 2017). "TCA's Daniel Carlson up for national award for charitable acts". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  4. ^ Goodman, Joseph (November 21, 2016). "'Turncoat' Carlson represents Auburn's best chance of beating Alabama". AL.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  5. ^ Vitale, Josh (October 7, 2017). "Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson breaks career SEC scoring record". oanow.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  6. ^ "Daniel Carlson College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  7. ^ "Daniel Carlson Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  8. ^ Bergman, Jeremy (April 28, 2018). "Vikings trade two picks to draft kicker Daniel Carlson". NFL.com. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  9. ^ "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  10. ^ Smith, Eric (August 20, 2018). "Vikings Release Forbath, Place Aruna on IR, Announce Other Moves". Vikings.com. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  11. ^ "Cousins, Vikings sharp in season-opening win". Bemidji Pioneer. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  12. ^ "Vikings-Packers Ends in 29–29 Tie After Rookie Carlson Misses 2 Kicks in Overtime". KSTP. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  13. ^ "Vikings Sign WR Aldrick Robinson, Waive K Daniel Carlson". Vikings.com. September 17, 2018.
  14. ^ "Raiders Announce Transactions – 10.23.18". Raiders.com. October 23, 2018. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  15. ^ "Raiders' Daniel Carlson: Collects four points in Raiders debut". CBSSports.com. October 29, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  16. ^ Knoblauch, Austin (November 21, 2018). "Samson Ebukam, Saquon Barkley among Players of the Week". NFL.com.
  17. ^ Newby, John (June 13, 2019). "Daniel Carlson recaps unique rookie season". 247 Sports. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  18. ^ Alper, Josh (April 16, 2020). "Daniel Carlson, Nathan Peterman sign tenders with Raiders". NBCSports.com. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  19. ^ Martin, Kyle (April 30, 2020). "Suiting Up: Newest Raiders pick their jersey numbers". Raiders.com. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  20. ^ Gordon, Grant (September 16, 2020). "Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson among Week 1 Players of the Week". www.nfl.com. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  21. ^ Gordon, Grant (January 7, 2021). "Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, Bills QB Josh Allen among Players of the Month". www.nfl.com. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  22. ^ Williams, Charean (March 17, 2021). "Darious Williams only one of 26 RFAs in NFL to receive first-round tender". NBCSports.com. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  23. ^ Simmons, Myles (April 29, 2021). "Daniel Carlson re-signs with Raiders". NBCSports.com. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  24. ^ Gordon, Grant (September 22, 2021). "Titans RB Derrick Henry, Cardinals QB Kyler Murray among NFL Players of the Week". NFL.com.
  25. ^ "Raiders beat Cowboys 36-33 in OT on field goal after penalty". ESPN. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  26. ^ "Raiders Rumors: Daniel Carlson Agrees to 4-Year, $18.4M Extension with Las Vegas". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  27. ^ Raiders Public Relations (December 9, 2021). "Daniel Carlson and AJ Cole sign multi-year extensions with the Raiders". Raiders.com. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  28. ^ "Carlson FG gives Raiders 16-14 win vs COVID-ravaged Browns". cbssports.com. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  29. ^ "Colts vs. Raiders final score: Las Vegas wins on another Daniel Carlson walk-off field goal". cbssports.com. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  30. ^ "2021 NFL Kicking & Punting". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  31. ^ "Daniel Carlson field goal at the end of OT sends Raiders to playoffs, 35-32 over Chargers". Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  32. ^ Claybourn, Cole (January 7, 2022). "Kicker Daniel Carlson a big factor in Raiders' playoff hopes as he trusts in the Lord's plans". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  33. ^ Jackson, Lily (August 15, 2017). "'I liked her, and she liked me back': Auburn's star kicker prepares for his wedding day". The Auburn Plainsman. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  34. ^ "danielcarlson38". Twitter. Retrieved April 20, 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Daniel Carlson.
Southeastern Conference Football Player of the Year
Minnesota Vikings 2018 NFL Draft selections
Las Vegas Raiders roster
NFL annual scoring leaders
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