Matt Prater Fantasy News and Statistics

When the dust settles on Matt Prater's career, he's very likely only going to be remembered for the moment when he broke the NFL record by nailing a 64-yard field goal at the end of the first half in a 2013 game against the Titans. However, digging a little deeper into Prater tells the tale of a man who has turned out to be a heck of a lot more than just a one-kick wonder. There's a reason why the Detroit Lions are hanging onto him in his 11th NFL season in 2017.

Prater's career has been all over the place since the beginning. While kicking at UCF, he was looked upon as a much better punter than a placekicker. After averaging 47.9 yards per boot in 2003, the Knights made him solely a kicker, and he struggled mightily. He only made 92.3 percent of his extra points while at UCF and was good on just 67.6 percent of his field goal tries.

The worst moment for Prater was his last as a Knight. In the 2005 Hawaii Bowl, he missed an extra point in overtime that ultimately cost UCF in a 49-48 loss to Nevada. At the time, the team had never won a bowl game in its history, and he was looked upon as the ultimate goat.

The first taste of professional kicking Prater had was as a member of the Lions. He was brought in as a camp leg to give veteran, Jason Hanson the preseason off. He never had a shot of making the team, and he ended up out of football in 2006. The next year, he bounced around a bit, earning tryouts with Miami, Green Bay and Minnesota before kicking for Atlanta and Denver for two games each.

Yet in 2008, Prater finally got his shot at being a full-time kicker for the Broncos. He went just 25-of-34 that year, but he flashed a tremendously powerful leg, making 5-of-6 field goals from 50-plus yards, including a 56-yard field goal, the longest at the time for a Denver kicker away from Mile High.

Five years later, Prater cashed in and etched his name into the NFL history books with his 64-yarder against Tennessee. That year, though, was a lot more than just one great kick for Prater. He went 25-of-26 on field goals and set an NFL record with 75 extra points in the year Peyton Manning broke the all-time record for touchdown passes in a campaign.

After his first Pro Bowl season, Prater left Denver in free agency for Detroit to replace the retired Hanson, the man who he had effectively caddied for at the start of his career. Since coming to Detroit, the results have been pretty darn good. He enters the 2017 season having made 86 percent of his field goals in three years for the Lions.

In 2016, Prater made all seven of his field goal attempts from 50-plus yards. He enters 2017 having gone 36-of-45 from 50-plus, making him one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history from long range.