Last year’s Lou Groza Award winner, given to the nation’s top kicker, Gonzalez was a first team All-American who set the FBS career record for field goals made after converting 96 kicks out of 116 attempts.
Unlike the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who selected kicker Roberto Aguayo in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, Cleveland chose to wait until the final round to select arguably the best overall kicker in the draft. With this pick, the team sets up a training camp battle between Gonzalez and incumbent Cody Parkey, who missed three field goals – including the game winner – in his first game with the Browns, but went on to finish last season converting 32 of his 36 attempts.