Out of the kickers the Saints worked out Wednesday, The Advocate learned the names of three of them: ex-New Orleans Super Bowl hero Garrett Hartley; rookie free-agent Zach Hocker; and Derek Dimke, who unsuccessfully auditioned for a job in the preseason.
But coach Sean Payton on Thursday said the Saints worked out four kickers. And that fourth kicker was Dustin Hopkins, a former 2013 sixth-round draft selection out of Florida State, The Advocate has been told.
It was Buffalo who drafted Hopkins. He made the team at the end of his rookie training camp over veteran Rian Lindell, but a groin injury to Hopkins forced the Bills to sign Dan Carpenter.
Hopkins took longer than expected to recover, and Buffalo sent him to season-ending injured reserve. He tried out again for the Bills in 2014, but he lost out to Carpenter.
Hartley, Hopkins, Hocker and Dimke all worked out three days after Saints kicker Shayne Graham missed a field goal in New Orleans’ 41-10 defeat at home to the Carolina Panthers. While none were signed, all four of the workout kickers are worth keeping an eye on for the future — Graham is on a one-year contract with the Saints.
However, it is worth noting Graham has made 18 of his 20 field goal attempts this year. His field-goal accuracy rate of 90 percent was the seventh best in the NFL through the first 14 weeks of the season.
The Saints (5-8) can make the playoffs without relying on tiebreakers if they win the three games remaining on their schedule: at Chicago (5-8) on Monday night, at home against Atlanta (5-8) on Dec. 21, and at Tampa Bay (2-11) on Dec. 28.