Robbie Gould has yet to find a new team after telling the 49ers he was moving on in free agency, but the 49ers have found his replacement.
The 49ers drafted Michigan’s Jake Moody in the third round, using the 99th overall pick on a kicker. Earlier in the third round, San Francisco made its first pick of the 2023 draft by picking Penn State safety Ji’Ayir Brown.
It is the highest a team has used a draft pick on a kicker since the Buccaneers selected Roberto Aguayo with the 59th overall choice in 2016. The 49ers hope Moody works out better than Aguayo did.
Moody went 100 picks before the Patriots selected Michigan quarterback Tom Brady in 2000.
He will take over for Gould, who spent the past six seasons in San Francisco. Gould was 27-of-32 on field goals and 50-of-51 on extra points in 2022.
Moody made 82.9 of his field goals in 2022, going 29-of-35 with four misses coming from beyond 50 yards. He scored 147 points.
Considering where the 49ers drafted Moody, Zane Gonzalez likely ends up elsewhere. The team acquired the veteran kicker in a trade with the Panthers on March 27, but it was for two seventh-round conditional choices.
Maryland kicker Chad Ryland is expected to be the only other kicker selected, while Michigan State’s Bryce Baringer, Rutgers’ Adam Korsak and Michigan’s Brad Robbins are punters who could hear their names called.