Evan McPherson, Safety Michael Thomas, Tight end Scotty Washington

The most prolific rookie kicker in the history of the NFL is looking to keep his job heading into his second season.

You would think Evan McPherson is feeling pretty secure these days, After all, so much has changed since he outdueled Austin Seibert:

_Combining the regular season and postseason, McPherson’s 12 field goals of 50 yards in a single year is an NFL record.

_He’s the first kicker in NFL history to have multiple four field-goal games in a postseason.

_His 14-for-14 radar in the postseason is the most without a miss and tied Adam Vinatieri’s record for most field goals in a single postseason.

“You always have to be performing at your best because they can bring in somebody tomorrow,” McPherson said this week during voluntaries.

Even to replace a guy that was 14-for-14 in the playoffs?

“They could,” he said. “You never know.”

When they took McPherson in the fifth round last year, they didn’t tell him he had the job. They kept the vet Seibert around to kick against him in training camp.

“They never said I was the guy,” McPherson said. “It was always, ‘You have to compete for it,’ and I feel like I probably needed that a little bit. Just to make sure I was kind of dialed in and just competing every day, trying to get the best out of me. Honestly, I think that’s why they never really said I was the guy.”

So even after his pro day and spring practices, he kept kicking to stay sharp for the competition. After last June’s voluntaries and before the start of training camp in late July, McPherson figured he kicked three, maybe four times a week.

The big leg needed big rest after more than a year of steady, record-breaking work. Now he says he kicks twice, maybe once a week. After last season’s final kick (a touchback following his 38-yard field goal that gave the Bengals a 20-13 lead with 10:15 left in the third quarter of the Super Bowl), McPherson didn’t kick again for about two months.

“I feel good. You’d have to say refreshed,” McPherson said. “It doesn’t change much…