Kickers are people too! However, they are arguably the less important position in fantasy football. Furthermore, more and more fantasy leagues have removed the kicker position from their lineup and replaced it with a second flex spot over the past few years. Yet, other leagues refuse to get rid of the kicker spot.
Last year the top four kickers scored an average of 157.3 fantasy points. By comparison, Devin Singletary was the RB24, scoring 158.9 half-point PPR fantasy points last year. Similarly, Zay Jones was the WR26, totaling 157.1 fantasy points in 2022.
The problem with kickers is that they score very similarly. Justin Tucker was the top-scoring kicker last year, totaling 160 fantasy points. Behind him were Daniel Carlson (159), Brett Maher (155), Jason Myers (155), and Younghoe Koo (143). However, the next 16 kickers scored between 136 and 121 fantasy points.
One of those 16 kickers is Evan McPherson. Despite being the second kicker selected in most fantasy drafts, the former Gator was only the K19 last year. His fantasy points per game average dropped by 17.4% from his rookie season. McPherson proves that spending a significant draft pick for a kicker to start all year rarely works out.
While kickers won’t make or break your fantasy season, they could be the difference between winning and losing some weeks. Let’s look at a few tips to help you figure out the kicker position.
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Guide to Drafting Kickers
Kickers on Good Offenses
Your kicker can’t score fantasy points if their team can’t cross the 50-yard line. Last year 50% of the top 10 fantasy kickers all played on teams that ranked in the top 12 in points scored per game. Furthermore, three of those kickers played on teams that finished top six in points scored per game – Brett Maher, Robbie Gould, and Tyler Bass.
Meanwhile, Harrison Butker is one of the top kickers in the NFL. Unfortunately, he struggled to stay healthy last season. Yet Butker and his replacement, Matthew Wright, combined to score 162 fantasy points in 2022. That means the duo would have been the K1 over Justin Tucker. For reference, the Kansas City Chiefs were the top-scoring team in the NFL last year.
Fields Goals Over Touchdowns
Yes, having kickers on good offenses is nice. However, fantasy players ideally want teams that struggle inside the red zone. Teams that can get in field goal range but fail to punch the ball in the end zone create the best fantasy kickers. While NFL teams want the touchdown and the six points, fantasy players rather see their kicker attempting a field goal worth three or more points than a point after a touchdown worth only one.
Last year four of the top 10 fantasy kickers played on top 10 scoring offenses. However, what about the other six kickers? One of them, Daniel Carlson, was part of the 12th-highest-scoring team in the NFL. Yet, the other five top-scoring kickers all played on offenses ranking 15th or lower in points scored per game last season, including Justin Tucker (19th) and Eddy Pineiro (20th). Tucker led the league in field goal attempts (43), while Pineiro finished 10th (35).
Big Leg Kickers
When your running back or wide receiver scores a touchdown, you receive six fantasy points for the score. Meanwhile, most leagues will give you five fantasy points when your kicker makes a 50-yard or longer field goal. Sometimes fantasy players can luck and get 13-15 fantasy points from their kicker on only three field goal attempts. However, your kicker must have leg strength to make long-distance field goal attempts.
Everyone will point to the Broncos kicker because of the altitude in Denver, making kicking from longer distances easier. Yet, there are big leg kickers who can consistently hit from 50 or more yards away without the altitude. Last year there were nine teams with seven or more successful field goals from at least 50 yards. Meanwhile, 10 teams attempted at least one 60-yard or longer field goal last year. However, only 38.5% of those attempts were successful.
Do NOT Draft Justin Tucker
I’ve already mentioned Tucker several times throughout this article. He was the top fantasy kicker last year, averaging 9.4 points per game. Furthermore, the former Texas Longhorn is the top kicker in the NFL and a likely Hall of Famer. However, fantasy players should avoid drafting Tucker because of his ridiculous ADP.
While it should drop over the next few months, Tucker’s ADP on ESPN is currently 88.9 overall. That makes him an eighth-round pick in a 12-team league. Meanwhile, the next highest-drafted kicker is Evan McPherson, with an ADP of 116.8 (10th round). As I mentioned, kickers typically score similar end-of-season total fantasy points. Therefore, spending a mid-round pick on a kicker is a horrible idea.
Furthermore, Tucker is the top NFL kicker but hasn’t been consistently the K1 for fantasy players. Travis Kelce is worth a first-round pick because of the consistent TE1 production fantasy players get from him and the weekly advantage you get over your league mates. The superstar has been the TE1 in six of the past seven years, with the lone exception being the TE2 in 2021. However, that hasn’t been the case for Tucker. The former Longhorn has been a top-eight kicker over the past six years. Yet, he has only three top-three finishes during the span, including only one K1 finish. Meanwhile, Tucker only outscored the K4 by less than four points last season.
Streaming is your Best Friend
Remember, kickers are people too! Unfortunately, sometimes you have to tell people in your life to get lost because they are no longer good for you. That also applies to your fantasy kickers. Instead of drafting a kicker to play all season long, fantasy players should wait until the final round of the draft to select a Week 1 kicker.
Better yet, don’t draft a kicker if you don’t have to. If your fantasy draft is more than a week before the start of the regular season, use that last-round draft pick on a high-upside handcuff like Jerome Ford or Tyjae Spears. On the slim chance that Nick Chubb or Derrick Henry suffer a torn ACL on the last day of training camp, you drafted an RB2 with your final pick. If the star running backs are healthy heading into Week 1, drop the handcuff and add a kicker right before opening day.
The most important thing to remember from this article is that kickers aren’t that important. You are better off streaming all season long and playing the matchups based on the opponent, weather, and over/under total than sticking with one kicker all year. Furthermore, you don’t want to have to roster two kickers and burn a roster spot in Week 13 when Justin Tucker is on his bye. Stream the position and let a league mate be the foolish one to spend an eighth-round pick on a kicker.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.
