From Andre the Giant to Tacko Fall: The case for using a 7-footer to block field goals

Key Points:

• In 1975, Washington coach George Allen used the idea of signing wrestling star Andre the Giant as a publicity stunt to keep the team in the offseason headlines, with no real intent to have Andre play football.
• Recently, former NFL assistant coach and football analytics expert Ryan Paganetti proposed using extremely tall players like 7-foot-7 ex-NBA center Tacko Fall as specialized field goal block specialists to disrupt kicks by leveraging their height and reach.
• Paganetti's strategy involves creating a two-yard push on the offensive line to open a lane for the tall player to jump and block kicks, potentially improving field goal block rates and impacting close games, which make up about 25% of NFL outcomes.
• While the concept has some support and is theoretically promising based on ball trajectory data, practical attempts, such as at the University of Florida, have failed, and many football experts remain skeptical about the feasibility and impact of rostering such specialists.
• Former players and coaches acknowledge the creativity and potential intrigue of the idea, but concerns remain about the specialist’s athleticism, roster spot value, and whether kickers would simply adjust their techniques to counteract the threat.