The Raiders may have spent the summer hearing plenty of noise about their kicking situation, but a new preseason metric points in a much calmer direction. Matt Gay looks fine.
More than fine, actually. The real concern, if there is one, sits much deeper on the depth chart.
FanSided’s Adam Fromal introduced a proprietary measure called Kicker Value Added, or KVA, which is designed to show “how much value a kicker actually adds (or costs) relative to league expectations from the same distances across the field.” In other words, it accounts for the fact that kicks are not all equal. A chip shot and a long attempt should not carry the same weight, and volume matters too.
That framework matters in Las Vegas because fans were left trying to read too much into the preseason battle after Gay won the job. Some still wanted Daniel Carlson back.
Gay had a bumpy camp. Kansei Matsuzawa, the “Tokyo Toe,” came in with a strong college résumé and a compelling story, but he also looked shaky at times.
Fromal’s preseason deep dive covered all 381 combined field goals and extra points, and Gay came out looking solid. Among the 42 kickers who tried a field goal or extra point in August, he ranked No. 15 with a KVA of 1.31.
“Apparently, a reunion with special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis was exactly what the doctor ordered for Matt Gay. He sat at No. 32 in my preseason kicker rankings, but that was before he went 5-of-6 on his attempts for the Las Vegas Raiders, only missing from 54. Though Gay still has a long climb before he sits in a more reliable tier, he left no doubt he should have at least a medium-length leash in 2026.”
That’s the part Raiders fans can hang onto. Gay’s preseason work suggests he belongs in the top half of the league, and if that carries into the regular season, Las Vegas won’t have to sweat the position. The preseason is not the regular season, of course, but Gay is a veteran with real experience, and the bigger point is simple: his leg is in a good place.
The metric also shows how narrow the gap was between Gay and Carlson. Carlson, now with the New Orleans Saints, checked in at No.
- Fromal noted that Carlson’s makes were not especially clean, and he didn’t have the same volume as Gay.
So for now, the Raiders don’t need to panic about what they lost or chase what might be out there.
If anything, the numbers suggest there isn’t much of an upgrade available anyway. And there’s another layer here that can’t be ignored: Gay’s comfort with Joe DeCamillis. That kind of familiarity on special teams can matter, and the Raiders have it.
Matsuzawa’s summer was much rougher. He missed every attempt, including a whiffed 38-yarder and two extra points that sailed outside the uprights. He also had a landing zone violation, though that does not count in KVA.
That ugly stretch left him with the second-worst KVA among the 42 kickers in the preseason at minus-4.49. Only a particularly rough run from Jason Meyers kept Matsuzawa from sitting at the very bottom, and if he had taken more field-goal tries, he might have ended up there.
Even so, the Raiders do not appear ready to give up on him. His International Player Pathway status and practice squad exemption make him easier to keep around, and John Spytek did not sound especially discouraged after the preseason.
Matsuzawa still has plenty of work ahead, but the traits that made him stand out at the University of Hawai’i are still part of the picture. For now, though, the Raiders have no reason to rush anything. Gay is in place, he looks capable, and Las Vegas can afford to let Matsuzawa develop without forcing the issue.
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