René Paredes: The Most Efficient Kicker in CFL History

Veteran René Paredes is not the most famous Quebecer who played in the Canadian Football League. The Calgary Stampeders kicker underlined his longevity, however, on Sunday, by playing his 200th career regular season game, in front of his family and friends in Montreal.

Born in Venezuela, Paredes grew up in Pierrefonds, also attending Concordia University from 2007 to 2010, after a stay in Florida during his adolescence.

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Before reaching the 200-game mark, the 38-year-old kicker achieved an even more impressive feat last week, surpassing the milestone of 2,000 career points in the CFL. In particular, we are talking about more than 500 successful placements.

Paredes, which appears at 10^e rank in the history of the CFL for the number of points scored (2001 before Sunday’s game), nevertheless remains far behind legendary kicker Lui Passaglia in this regard. The latter is the undisputed leader with his 3,991 points, the result of his 25 seasons spent with the BC Lions, from 1976 to 2000.

Impressive efficiency rate

However, where Paredes is ahead of Passaglia and every other kicker in CFL history is in his efficiency. With a success rate of 87.5% on his investments, the Quebecer is at the top. No other kicker who has attempted more than 300 field goals in the CFL in his career has achieved such a good ratio. By comparison, Passaglia had a poor effectiveness rate of 72.7%.

Lewis Ward, current kicker for the Ottawa Redblacks, is the only one who compares favorably to Paredes, with 190 field goals in 213 attempts to start his career (89.2%). David Côté, of the Alouettes, is hovering around 85%, which remains excellent.

Supporting statistics, the Venezuelan-born Quebecer is one of the best kickers in the history of the CFL. And to think that man has always preferred soccer to football…

From field to barracks

During his prolific career, Paredes notably won the Gray Cup twice with the Stampeders, in 2014 and 2018. During the second conquest, Paredes had scored his two three-point kicks, becoming the leader in the history of the Gray Cup with 11 successful field goals in as many attempts in the grand final of Canadian football.

Paredes, who has two young boys, could be on his last miles in the CFL. Moreover, he was not sure to play this season, having at the same time started a job in Calgary as a handyman in a fire station. His bosses finally accommodated him so that he could continue to put out fires, with investments, on the football field. It remains to be seen until when such an agreement will allow him to improve his records. By the way, Passaglia had played until… 46 years old.

The best efficiency rate on placements (minimum of 300 attempts)

1 – René Paredes – 87.5%

2 – Sean Whyte – 87,3%

3 – Justin Medlock – 86.5%

4 – Sandro DeAngelis – 81.9%

5 – Paul McCallum – 80,4%

Most successful field goals in CFL history (effectiveness):

1 – Lui Passaglia – 875 (72.7%)

2 – Paul McCallum – 722 (80,4%)

3 – Mark McLoughlin – 673 (73,8%)

4 – Paul Osbaldiston – 669 (72,2%)

5 – Troy Westwood – 617 (72,2%)

6 – Dave Ridgway – 574 (78%)

7 – Sean Fleming – 553 (73,3%)

8 – René Paredes – 510 (87.5%)