FOXBORO, Mass. -- Bill Belichick knows he's been lucky.
While many NFL teams struggle for years to find even one reliable kicker, the New England Patriots have fielded three during Belichick's head-coaching tenure: Adam Vinatieri from 2000 to 2005, Stephen Gostkowski from 2006 to 2019 and Nick Folk from 2019 to present day.
Folk doesn't have Vinatieri's and Gostkowski's postseason résumés, but he's been remarkably consistent since the Patriots signed him off the street three years ago. Of the 33 kickers with at least 45 field-goal attempts since 2019, only Justin Tucker and Younghoe Koo boast higher conversion rates than Folk's 90.1%.
Head coach Bill Belichick clearly values Folk's talents. After the 36-year-old was recognized Wednesday as the AFC's Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 8, Belichick called him "probably the smartest" kicker he's ever coached and said he belongs in the conversation for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
"Nick’s really good," Belichick said. "Of all the kickers (I've coached), he's probably the smartest. They were all smart, but (he's) really just professional, totally understanding everything about kicking. Adam and Steve were probably a little more talented, but just in terms of the fundamentals, the execution, the consistency, Nick's really good.
"I mean, Adam's really good, too -- you're talking about a Hall of Fame kicker. Honestly, all three of those guys could be. They're pretty good. I've been very fortunate."
Folk, who was kicking in the Alliance of American Football before the Patriots picked him up amid a brief period of instability at the position, has beaten out younger challengers in each of the last three preseasons, vanquishing the likes of fifth-round draft pick Justin Rohrwasser, Roberto Aguayo, Quinn Nordin and Tristan Vizcaino.
With the Patriots' offense tied for 29th in red-zone conversion rate this season, Folk's leg has helped carry them to multiple victories. He's gone 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts in two of New England's four wins -- first in a 29-0 shutout of the Detroit Lions in Week 5 and then in a 22-17 triumph over the New York Jets this past Sunday. His 45-yard miss in a Week 6 win in Cleveland snapped an NFL-record streak of 64 consecutive makes from inside 50 yards that dated back to Week 1 of the 2020 season.
"That's a key position," Belichick said, "and Nick's been incredibly consistent."
But as great as Folk has been, his career isn't likely to land him in Canton. Just four kickers have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and two of them (George Blanda and Lou Groza) also played other positions. The only two full-time kickers with gold jackets are Morten Andersen and Jan Stenerud.
Vinatieri, with his four Super Bowl rings and multiple iconic kicks, almost certainly will join that group once he's eligible. But Gostkowski and Folk? Odds are they'll fall short.
