Detroit Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp had Jake Moody rated as the No. 1 kicker in last year's draft, but the San Francisco 49ers took the former Michigan star late in the third round, well before the Lions considered him to stabilize their kicking situation.

Moody, the highest-drafted kicker (No. 99 overall) since Robert Aguayo went in the second round of the 2016 draft, made 21 of 25 field goals in the regular season but enters Sunday's NFC championship game in a bit of a slump, having failed to convert two of his past three kicks.

He had a 48-yard attempt blocked in the 49ers' divisional playoff win over the Green Bay Packers last week, and missed a 38-yarder off the right upright in the 49ers' final regular season game. However, Moody's 52-yard make at the start of the fourth quarter vs. the Packers proved to be the difference in a 24-21 victory.

"We thought Moody’s a great player coming out," Fipp said Thursday from Allen Park at the Lions' practice facility. "I had him as my top player coming out that year and really liked him. I think he’s going to be a great player in this league. I think he’s like a lot of young kickers, they have their ups and downs, but San Fran’s been smart and they’ve hung with him. And I really think he’s going to have a great career and I wish him the best for sure."

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Moody won the Lou Groza Award winner as the nation's best kicker in 2021 and set single-season Michigan records for field goals (29), extra points (60) and 40-plus-yard kicks (10) last season.

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He started his NFL career a perfect 9-for-9 on field goals and 20-for-20 on extra points, but missed a game-winning 41-yarder wide right with 6 seconds to play in a Week 6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Moody missed another short field goal the following week in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and finished the season 12 of 15 on kicks between 30 and 49 yards.

The Lions have stabilized their kicking situation in recent weeks, turning the job back over to Michael Badgley, who put up similar stats to Moody (20 of 24 on field goals) in a 12-game cameo with the team last year. Badgley, who replaced Riley Patterson as Lions kicker in late December, made a 54-yarder in the Lions' wild-card win over the Los Angeles Rams, his longest kick since his rookie season of 2018.

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Fipp said the Lions' field goal block unit "has done a great job of putting pressure on" opposing kickers, and it's imperative they keep continue that trend Sunday.

"I think (John) Cominsky feels like he tipped the first ball in that last game a little bit," FIpp said. "I know we’ve gotten a lot of pressure and I think that’s probably the biggest thing you could do to affect those guys going into the next game is just the pressure you’ve put in previous or in the prior games, cause they see all that stuff. So, anyways, I wish (Moody) the best. I’ve always said that, I mean before the game. You want the other team to play at a high level and play their very, very best and then you want to play better than them ultimately at the end of the day. I would never wish poorly on anybody.”

Injury report

Frank Ragnow practiced Friday for the first time this week with his leg taped so heavily it looked like he could’ve been in a cast.

Ragnow, who injured his knee and ankle in last week's playoff win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was a full participant in practice despite an assortment of injuries — ankle, toe, knee and back — but the Lions left no doubt their Pro Bowl center will be on the field for Sunday’s game when they did not give him a injury designation on Friday’s practice report.

"He’s good," Lions coach Dan Campbell said before practice. "You know Frank, Frank’s doing well. And Frank’ll be ready to go. You’re not going to hold him out of this one and he gets better every day, but he’ll be ready."

The Lions will be without two starters Sunday. Left guard Jonah Jackson will miss the game with the knee injury he suffered in last week's divisional win over the Bucs, and return man Kalif Raymond is out for the third straight week with a knee injury he suffered in the regular season finale.

But the team is healthy otherwise heading into its biggest game in 32 years.

Cornerback Chase Lucas is questionable to play after he missed two days this week with an illness, and third-string quarterback Hendon Hooker (tooth) is questionable after he missed practice Friday.

Lucas returned to practice Friday and has been a key special teams player for the Lions this postseason.

Pass rusher James Houston, who has not played since returning from injured reserve, also does not have an injury designation on the practice report.

The Lions have been noncommittal on whether he will play Sunday for the first time since fracturing his fibula in a Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

"I think he’s very close," Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said Thursday. "The thing that we want to do, we want to protect that player from themselves for the most part. Listen, I do not take injuries lightly, especially make sure we listen to the medical department to make sure we bring that player along exactly how he needs to come along. He’s doing a really good job in practice. You can tell he’s getting back to form to where he was. And hopefully, we’ll get a chance to put that player on the field, so he can make some plays for us.”

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Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 49ers K Jake Moody slumping heading into NFC championship game