The Cleveland Browns have struggled to find consistency as a franchise. Well, they've been consistently bad but success hasn't been a sustainable practice.
Despite playing in three postseason games over the last five seasons, Cleveland has struggled to maintain any momentum year to year.
Besides the glaringly obvious factor of poor quarterback play, one other position has severely handicapped the Browns. In 2024, kicker Dustin Hopkins converted a measly 18 field goals out of 27 attempts (66 percent). The team lost three games by six points or fewer.
Cleveland Browns may want to look to UFL for solution at kicker
The Browns did not pick a kicker in the 2025 NFL Draft and Hopkins is still on the roster despite his abysmal showing last season. If head coach Kevin Stefanski truly wants to rebuild his team and be more competitive this year, he should be looking to field a kicking competition when training camp begins.
The only other threat to Hopkins' job is Andre Szmyt, an undrafted free agent signed to the team's practice squad in December from the United Football League's St. Louis Battlehawks. It's unlikely Szmyt is the answer if he couldn't dethrone Hopkins last year but Stefanski should look again to the UFL and St. Louis for the hot hand - er foot.
Battlehawks kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, of which fans may remember from his time in the NFL (or maybe just his wicked specs), is currently a perfect 16-for-16 in field goals this season. After seven games, he's clearly the best leg in football (that's playing at the moment).
Blankenship was signed out of Georgia by the Indianapolis Colts in 2020. He spent three seasons there before being waived, playing one more year with the Arizona Cardinals and lasting only through training camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2024. He boasted an 83.9 career conversion rate during that span, racking up 195 points.
There are three weeks left in the UFL season, not including the playoffs, so there's still a lot of football left to be played. That also means plenty of opportunity for Blankenship to come back down to earth. Either way, Stefanski should role the dice and give "Hot Rod" one more shot.