Dominic Zvada has already done the hard part. The 22-year-old won the New York Giants kicking job outright in the summer of 2026, beating out Ben Sauls, and now he enters the regular season with a realistic shot to chase one of the team’s oldest rookie records.
That record belongs to Ali Haji-Sheikh, who scored 127 points as a Giants rookie in 1983. Zvada would need 128 points to break it, which means one more point than the mark that has stood for more than four decades.
A kicker has a cleaner path than most rookies
For most first-year players, a rookie scoring record is out of reach. For a kicker, it is a little different. Points are concentrated in one job, and if the player handles nearly every kicking opportunity, the total can climb quickly over a full 17-game season.
Zvada is in position to benefit from that reality. He made nine kicks in the preseason finale, including a 53-yard field goal, and the Giants chose him as the winner of the kicking competition. Entering the 2026 regular season, he had not played a regular-season snap for the Giants yet, but the path is now there.
The math is simple. Zvada needs 128 points to top Haji-Sheikh’s rookie total of 127. If he stays in the role and the Giants give him enough scoring chances, the record is within range.
How the Giants record stacks up
The comparison matters because it shows how unusual the opportunity is. Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr. and Jaxson Dart all had rookie scoring totals mentioned in the Giants’ record conversation, but a kicker has a very different route to points. That is why Zvada’s situation stands out: the job itself is the opportunity.
Zvada’s own framing fits that logic. He said, “I’m already trying to put the 22-year-old in the record books.” He also added, “Don’t tell me to relax -- you relax.”
Those comments reflect the reality of a rookie kicker who has already won the job and now has a specific target. The Giants still have a long season ahead, but Zvada has given himself a chance to make history before he has even taken a regular-season snap.
