South Carolina Football: Ranking the greatest Gamecock hidden gems in NFL Draft history
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football's Greatest NFL Draft Hidden Gems:
No. 11 Kicker Ryan Succop
The NFL Draft's last pick is known as Mr. Irrelevant, and all-time great South Carolina kicker Ryan Succop (Round 7, Pick 256; Kansas City Chiefs; 2009 NFL Draft) was one of two former Gamecocks to become Mr. Irrelevant (along with tight end Justice Cunningham in 2013).
Succop was an elite kicker and a really good punter for the Gamecocks, but he stuck with placekicking at the NFL level. For 14 seasons, he was a starter in the NFL.
During his career, Succop played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and led the league in at least one major category at each stop. With the Chiefs, he led the league in the longest field goal made category (2011) and extra-point percentage (2009-2013). With the Titans, he led the NFL in the longest field goal made category (2018), field goals made (2017), field goal percentage (2016), extra-point percentage (2014), points (2017), kickoff average (2015), and touchbacks (2016). With the Buccaneers, he led football with the longest field goal made (2022), extra points made (2021), and points (2020).
Succop made the All-Rookie team and won a Super Bowl with the Bucs, but somehow, he never made a Pro Bowl. With the exception of his injury-riddled and injury-shortened 2019 season, Succop made 84% of his field goals, a number that only one kicker in history had bested at the time Succop entered the NFL. That doesn't seem very "Irrelevant."