The Giants open training camp at the Greenbrier on July 29 with a job that looked settled in January now genuinely up for grabs: placekicker. Dominic Zvada, an undrafted rookie out of Michigan, went 13-for-13 during mandatory minicamp, connecting from 53, 56, and 60 yards, and he has turned Ben Sauls’ grip on the role into a fight.
The competition narrowed to two legs after the club signed and then released former Dolphins All-Pro Jason Sanders this spring. Sauls held the job through the back half of last season. Zvada spent June making the coaching staff look twice.
Zvada’s spring turned heads at minicamp
Dominic Zvada, giants, NCAA Football: Michigan at Maryland
Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
Zvada made all 13 of his field-goal tries at minicamp and went a perfect 8-for-8 in a session held in front of reporters, per Big Blue View. The résumé behind that leg is real. He was a 2024 first-team All-American, the 2024 Big Ten Kicker of the Year, and a two-time Lou Groza Award semifinalist at Michigan. In 2024, he set the program’s single-season record by hitting 21-of-22 (95.5%), including 7-for-7 from 50-plus yards, according to Sports Illustrated.
Zvada connected on just 17-of-25 (68%) as a senior in 2025, including 8-of-12 from 40-plus yards, a dip that shows the accuracy has wavered under live pressure. The leg has never been the question. The consistency is.
Sauls has already done it in games
Dec 28, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; New York Giants kicker Ben Sauls (30) kicks a field goal in the third quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Sauls closed 2025 by going 8-for-8 on field goals and 7-for-7 on extra points across the final three games, with his longest a 45-yarder against Dallas in the regular-season finale. He also holds a small piece of history as the first left-footed kicker to appear in an NFL game since Sebastian Janikowski retired after the 2018 season. Perfect is perfect, and the incumbent has game tape the rookie does not.
Sauls went just 7-of-14 at the same minicamp where Zvada was flawless, and a kicker who never missed in a small December sample suddenly has a rough June to answer for. The spring scoreboard cut against the incumbent.
The numbers heading into camp
Giants, Ben Sauls, Dominic Zvada
Credit: Credits: Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images, Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Kicker 2026 minicamp FG Most recent season FG Long
Dominic Zvada 13-of-13 17-of-25 (Michigan, 2025) 60 (minicamp)
Ben Sauls 7-of-14 8-of-8 (Giants, 2025) 45 (2025)
John Harbaugh built his reputation in Baltimore on special teams, and special-teams coordinator Chris Horton now has a genuine choice rather than a placeholder. New York already reset one specialist market this offseason, making Jordan Stout the highest-paid punter in league history on a three-year, $12.3 million deal, a sign the staff views the third phase as a place to win games rather than survive them.
What camp will decide
Zvada brings the bigger leg and the college pedigree. Sauls brings a clean NFL ledger and a full season inside the building. Six open practices at the Greenbrier, plus the preseason, will separate the two before New York opens at home in mid-August. The leg that holds up when the crowd is watching wins the job.
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Anthony Rivardo is the COO of Empire Sports Media and the host of Fireside Giants, a New York Giants ... More about Anthony Rivardo