Daniel Carlson

Daniel Vilhelm Carlson (born January 23, 1995) is an American professional football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers, becoming the all-time leading scorer of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft. Released by the Vikings during his rookie season, Carlson joined the Oakland Raiders and has since co-led the league in scoring in both 2020 and 2021. He is currently the tenth-most accurate kicker in NFL history.

Early life Carlson was born on January 23, 1995, to Hans and Jodie Carlson. He has an older brother named Nils and a younger brother named Anders, who played kicker for the Green Bay Packers and the New York Jets.

Carlson attended The Classical Academy before college.

College career Under head coach Gus Malzahn, Carlson never missed an extra point in his collegiate career with the Auburn Tigers. He was the all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Conference (SEC) football history with 480 career points until passed by Will Reichard of Alabama in 2023. Carlson was a three time member of the All SEC Team First Team.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings Carlson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round (167th overall) of the 2018 NFL draft. He was one of two kickers to be selected that year, the other being Jason Sanders by the Miami Dolphins.

In the offseason, he competed with veteran kicker Kai Forbath. Forbath was released by the team on August 20, 2018. Carlson made his NFL debut in the season-opening 24–16 victory over the San Francisco 49ers and converted all three extra point attempts and a field goal attempt. In the next game against the Green Bay Packers, he missed a field goal in regulation and two in overtime, resulting in a 29–29 tie. The following day, Carlson was waived and replaced by veteran Dan Bailey.

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

2018 season Carlson was signed by the Oakland Raiders on October 23, 2018, after the team released fellow rookie kicker Matt McCrane. In his Raiders' debut in Week 8, Carlson converted all four extra point attempts during a 42–28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Three weeks later, Carlson made two extra points and three field goals, including a 35-yard game winner as time expired, in a narrow 23–21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, earning him AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. Carlson went on to convert 94% of his field goal attempts for the Raiders in 2018, setting a new team record.

2019 season

The 2019 season was a relative disappointment for Carlson, struggling on conversion at longer distances. He went 10-for-16 with field goals attempts between 40–49 yards, and missed both attempts beyond 50 yards (51 and 53 yards). Carlson's field goal conversion rate for the season dropped 20 points from his 2018 season to 73.1%.

2020 season On April 16, 2020, Carlson was re-signed to a one-year contract. During the 2020 offseason, Carlson switched his jersey number from 8 to 2 in order for quarterback Marcus Mariota to wear number 8. In Week 1 against the Carolina Panthers, Carlson was a perfect 4-for-4 on his extra point and field goal attempts, including a career long 54-yard field goal, during the 34–30 road victory. Carlson was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance. Carlson was also named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for his performance the following December.

2021 season

The Raiders placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on Carlson on March 17, 2021. He signed the tender on April 29. In Week 2, Carlson converted all four field goal attempts and both extra-point attempts in a 26–17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. On Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys, he went 3–3 on extra points and 5–5 on field goals in a 36–33 overtime road victory, including a career-long 56-yarder to take a late lead in the 4th quarter and a 29-yarder to win the game in overtime. Carlson's Thanksgiving Day performance earned him another AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor, a feat only two other kickers had achieved at that point in the season.

On December 9, 2021, Carlson signed a four-year, $18.4 million extension with the Raiders, making him the third-highest-paid kicker in the NFL.

Down the stretch of the 2021 season, Carlson's kicking performance would become crucial for the Raiders. In Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns, Carlson made all three of his field goal attempts, the last of which being a 48-yard field goal that won the game for the Raiders. Two weeks later against the Indianapolis Colts, Carlson successfully converted all three of his field goal attempts and both of his extra-point attempts to account for 11 of the 23 points the Raiders scored in the contest, including the game-winning field goal. Carlson's performance tied him with New England Patriots' kicker Nick Folk for leading the league in field goals made and field goals attempted in the 2021 season. In the regular season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers, Carlson made five field goals, including a game-winning 47-yard attempt as time expired in overtime. The Raiders would clinch a playoff spot and eliminate the Chargers from playoff contention.

2022 season In the 2022 season, Carlson converted 35-of-36 extra point attempts and 34-of-37 field goal attempts.

2023 season In the 2023 season, he converted all 32 extra point attempts and 26-of-30 field goal attempts.

2024 season In the 2024 season, he converted 23-of-25 extra point attempts and 34-of-40 field goal attempts.

2025 season In the 2025 season, Carlson converted 21 of 22 extra point attempts and 22 of 27 field goal attempts.

New Orleans Saints On August 24, 2026, Carlson signed with the New Orleans Saints.

Career statistics

NFL Legend Led the league Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team GP Field goals Extra points Points FGA FGM Lng Pct XPA XPM Pct 2018 MIN 2 4 1 48 25.0 6 6 100.0 9 OAK 10 17 15 50 94.1 18 18 100.0 66 2019 OAK 16 26 19 48 73.1 36 34 94.4 91 2020 LV 16 35 33 54 94.3 47 45 95.7 144 2021 LV 17 43 40 56 93.0 33 30 90.9 150 2022 LV 17 37 34 57 91.9 36 35 97.2 137 2023 LV 17 30 26 54 86.7 32 32 100.0 110 2024 LV 17 40 34 54 85.0 25 23 92.0 125 2025 LV 17 27 22 60 81.5 22 21 95.5 87 Career 129 259 225 60 86.9 255 244 95.7 919

Postseason Year Team GP Field goals Extra points Points FGA FGM Lng Pct XPA XPM Pct 2021 LV 1 4 4 47 100.0 1 1 100.0 13 Career 1 4 4 47 100.0 1 1 100.0 13

College Year School Conf Class Pos G Kicking Punting XPM XPA XP% FGM FGA FG% Pts Punts Yds Avg 2014 Auburn SEC FR K 13 57 57 100.0 18 24 75.0 111 8 317 39.6 2015 Auburn SEC SO K 13 40 40 100.0 23 27 85.2 109 0 0 2016 Auburn SEC JR K 13 44 44 100.0 28 32 87.5 128 0 0 2017 Auburn SEC SR K 14 57 57 100.0 23 31 74.2 126 0 0 Career Auburn 198 198 100.0 92 114 80.7 474 8 317 39.6

Career highlights NFL First-team All-Pro (2022) Second-team All-Pro (2021) 2× NFL scoring co-leader (2020, 2021) Las Vegas Raiders record most 50+ yard field goals made in a single season (11, 2022)

College 2× SEC Special Teams Player of the Year (2016, 2017) 3× Second-team All-American (2015–2017) 3× First-team All-SEC (2015–2017)

Personal life Carlson is a Christian. He married Katherine Barker on January 13, 2018, in Birmingham, Alabama. They met during their time at Auburn. They have three children.