Dominic Zvada has spent the summer turning the Giants’ kicking battle into something that barely looks like a battle anymore.
The undrafted rookie from Michigan kept that momentum rolling in Saturday’s 26-3 preseason win over Miami, making both of his field-goal tries and strengthening a grip on the job with two weeks left before roster cuts. What began as an open competition now looks like Zvada’s to lose, with Ben Sauls trailing behind him.
According to NorthJersey’s Art Stapleton, Zvada has been the answer New York was searching for after entering the offseason without a clear kicker. He has gone 65-for-69 on field goals this summer, a 94.2 percent rate that has put him in position to beat out Sauls, who could end up on the practice squad.
The numbers have been piling up for a while. Zvada’s two makes against the Dolphins were only the latest addition to a camp and preseason run that already included a 62-yard “game-winner” in practice on Aug. 12, when teammates pushed John Harbaugh to let him take a walk-off attempt.
He drilled it. The leg was never the issue, and the accuracy has held steady even in the wind at Quest Diagnostics Training Center, where other kickers struggled.
His college track record backs up the summer he’s putting together. Zvada hit 21 of 22 field goals in 2024 at Michigan, a program-record 95.5 percent that brought him All-American honors and Big Ten Kicker of the Year. Over four college seasons, he finished at 82.8 percent.
The Giants created this opening in March when they released veteran Graham Gano after six seasons, clearing about $4.5 million in cap space, per multiple reports. Gano had been limited to six games in 2025 before a neck injury sent him to injured reserve. New York then brought in Jason Sanders to compete, but he was cut after battling the wind in camp, leaving Zvada and Sauls as the last men standing.
Sauls has done enough to stay in the conversation, but the reporting from camp has consistently favored Zvada for both accuracy and range. Keeping Sauls on the practice squad would give the Giants insurance without using an active roster spot on two kickers. Harbaugh has not publicly named a winner, but the usage and the production are telling the story.
The financial side only makes the decision cleaner. Zvada is on an undrafted rookie minimum salary, so New York would land its most accurate camp kicker at the cheapest possible price after already saving money by moving on from Gano.
That kind of special-teams move helps the roster and the cap at the same time, leaving the Giants with more flexibility to address lingering needs on the defensive line and in the secondary. Jordan Stout is back at punter, and Ben Mann remains the long snapper, giving the team continuity around a rookie kicker who has clearly earned trust.
Short of a collapse in Friday’s finale against the Jets, the Giants appear set to open the season with Zvada handling field goals. What started as an uncertain competition has become a summer-long statement, and the rookie has made himself the clear favorite to finish the job.
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