Controversial San Francisco 49ers Star Impresses at Minicamp

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The San Francisco 49ers had a rather smooth first day of mandatory minicamp on June 10, 2025, all things considered. Unlike other teams, they didn’t make headlines for contract holdouts or surprise injuries or anything of the sort.

But one often-maligned San Francisco star made rounds on social media for a more positive reason.

That was 49ers kicker Jake Moody.

Moody Changes Approach, Finds Success

Ahead of the 2025 season, Jake Moody has changed his kicking routine in a major way.

In the past, Moody would take a three step approach to the ball before attempting to send it through the uprights.

Now, Moody has switched to a two step approach. As 49ers insider Vic Tafur reports, that will likely result in decreased power for Moody, but should help him with his accuracy.

At minicamp on Tuesday June 10, 2025, that accuracy was on display.

According to 49ers insider Matt Maiocco, Moody used the new approach and made all of his kicks during practice from 27, 32, 27, 47, 52, and 55 yards.

#49ers kicker update from minicamp: Jake Moody, showing his new shortened approach, made all kicks from 27, 32, 37, 47, 52 and 55 yards

Tafur also reported that Moody was the only kicker the 49ers used in scrimmage action during camp.

The 49ers signed veteran kicker Greg Joseph back on May 16, 2025; it seems at this point Moody is still the clear No. 1 option at the position.

Moody’s Struggles as a 49er

Jake Moody was drafted by the 49ers in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 99th overall after a superb collegiate career at Michigan.

He won the Lou Groza award as the top placekicker in all of college football in 2021 as well as the Bakken-Andersen Big Ten Kicker of the Year award that same season. He also broke many records at Michigan including the record for the longest field goal in program history at 59 yards.

Moody’s third-round selection by San Francisco was not a small investment — the pick made Moody only the second kicker selected in the top 100 picks since 2016, the other being Roberto Aguayo’s second-round selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016.

They also moved on from kicking legend Robbie Gould in 2023 to give Moody a shot.

Moody has had an up-and-down start to his career which has drawn a lot of scrutiny given that kickers are held to a high standard of consistency.

His 70.6% field goal percentage was fifth-worst in the NFL in 2025. Moody was much better on extra points, missing only one on the season, but his field goal woes remained the focus for 49ers fans.

Moody’s career lowlight came in Week 17 of the 2024 season versus the Detroit Lions, when he missed field goals from 51 and 58 yards and missed his lone extra point of the season. Those seven points missed became very crucial – the 49ers lost the game by 6 points, 40-34.

However, it was a weird year for Moody, who missed three games with an ankle injury, and he did help the 49ers reach the Super Bowl in 2023 and even put them in position to win with good kicking during the big game.

49ers fans hope that Moody’s new kicking approach is the key to unlocking the potential the 49ers saw in him when they drafted him so high in 2023.

Ethan Inman is a sports journalist covering the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and Las Vegas Raiders for Heavy sports. He also co-hosts a college football podcast for The Voice of College Football, and writes about the NBA and MLB. He has previously covered the USC Trojans, the NHL, college baseball, and the intersection of sports and popular culture for other publications. He is based in the greater Los Angeles area. More about Ethan Inman