Will Reichard Is the Backup Generator For A Sputtering Offense

Through three games, the Minnesota Vikings’ leading scorer hasn’t been on their offense; he’s been on their special teams. Will Reichard is Alabama’s all-time leading scorer with 547 points, which also sets the all-time FBS scoring record. He has led the Vikings with 27 points this season.

“I think just the preparation that I put in,” Reichard said about the source of his confidence. “Work really hard throughout the offseason to go out there and not really think about anything and trust my technique.”

Whatever that technique is, it has paid off for the 25-year-old. He’s one of the main reasons why the Vikings are 3-0. Every time they can get the ball within his career-high 62 yards, he’s money from deep. Reichard’s kicking is especially crucial for a team that is struggling on offense.

Will Reichard from 62!

CINvsMIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/YWSP6TFHnJ

— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2025

“It is really something,” said head coach Kevin O’Connell on Reichard’s performance. “You start to feel like you’re getting Steph Curry open for a three-pointer…that’s why we got him. We think we have the best kicker in football.”

In total offense, the Vikings rank dead last in the NFL, averaging 238 yards per game. On third-down tries, they only have a 30% conversion rate.

“We gotta get a lot better on offense,” O’Connell said after the game. “From a standpoint of just doing some routine things and taking advantage of some opportunities when we have them.”

Fortunately, Reichard is there to “etch off points,” as O’Connell put it. You only need so much offense to get into Reichard’s range. So Reichard is a great safety net, as Kyler Murray adapts to the Vikings offense.

Reichard, the 2025 first-team All-Pro, isn’t just breaking college records but also NFL records. In 2025, he became the first NFL kicker in NFL history to kick four 59-plus-yard field goals in a single season. He also became the second in NFL history to make 19 50-plus-yard field goals in his first two seasons as a professional.

Most kickers are selected late in the draft, and the Vikings nabbed Reichard from a draft-day trade with the New York Jets that acquired them the 10th pick and the 203rd pick. They took J.J. McCarthy at 10, and Reichard was available at 203. So, perhaps the silver lining to the McCarthy saga is that they got Reichard with the other pick acquired from the Jets.

Reichard also doesn’t miss extra points. He is 75 for 75, with most of those kicks coming from at least 33 yards out. Yesterday, he had to kick one from 48 yards after an excessive-celebration 15-yard penalty on Minnesota’s first punt-return touchdown in nearly a decade.

Nonetheless, Will the Thrill is still on his rookie deal. Given his track record since arriving in Minnesota, this should be a no-brainer extension for general manager Nolan Teasley. Reichard appears to have fully recovered from his quad injury. Every time you see him about to kick, it’s a positive sign for Vikings fans. Fans who haven’t had good luck with kickers in clutch situations.

Reichard has also only missed two kicks in his NFL career. Some conspiracists/people who can see what’s clearly happening on video footage claim the ball hit wires used for NFL broadcasting technology during last season. If you look closely at videos of both missed kicks against the Cleveland Browns and the Los Angeles Chargers in 2025, it looks like the wires altered the pigskin’s flight path.

Wow: Looks like #Vikings K Will Reichard hit the wire on the sky cam during his missed 51 yard field goal earlier today. That was Reichard’s first miss on the season, and was a crucial moment in the game.

(@realmnsportsfan)pic.twitter.com/5BOtJW1okR

— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) October 6, 2025

We are witnessing the greatest Vikings kicker since Gary Anderson. It’s time Will Reichard gets recognized as one of the NFL’s recent greats, like Justin Tucker and Brandon Aubrey. And in this Minnesota offense, unless Kyler Murray starts developing better chemistry with his receiving corps, Reichard will keep getting plenty of opportunities to kick.

It’s also an added plus that he plays indoors and has a divisional matchup in Detroit every year. Still, Reichard has fully earned the title of Mr. Automatic and is already a household name on the surging Vikings special teams unit.