Place Kicker Rankings
Updated as of 8/26/2013
A good kicker can mean the difference between a win and a lose. Obviously, you will want to find the kicker that kicks the most field goals. But the difference between a great kicker last year and a average kicker isn't that great.
You always have to watch out for the top place kickers that are on the lists, however. Last year, David Akers was universally the number 1 ranked kicker based on how he performed in 2011. The 49ers had the type of offense that would stall out and attempt a lot of field goals before they had Colin Kaepernick step in to replace Alex Smith. He missed the largest percentage of field goals last year and has now been sent off to Detroit. This can be devastating if you are playing in a league where you receive negative points for missed FGs.
Your going to be able to find a place kicker with a good matchup on most weeks. Good matchups for a kicker are matchups against either very week defenses or against strong team defenses that hold teams from scoring TDs.
In any event, you should never select a kicker before the 15th or 16th round of a typical 18 round fantasy football draft. If somebody else wants to pick Stephen Gostikowski in the 13th round or earlier, don't follow their lead. There are still viable WRs and backup RBs or QBs available at this point in the draft.
If there is one thing that I know, it is that the best FG kicker is different just about every year. This is because there are usually one or two teams that have difficulty near the red zone. San Francisco had more attempts than any other team for the 2nd straight season; that may not hold true this year.
Dynamic offenses like New England or New Orleans are likely to move the ball down the field often. Even when they don't score a touchdown, they are often in the position for an easy field goal. However, the Saints were so good on offense last year that they were the only team that failed to have a 3+ field goal game.
Of course, accuracy counts for a great deal. That's why Mason Crosby is so far down the list. Green Bay has a great offense, but he missed 12 FGs last year or about a 66% accuracy. This may hurt some fantasy football players more than others as some leagues will subtract points for misses.
Take a look at the Overall Kicker rankings based on the average from the full season.
2013 Fantasy Football Place Kickers Rankings
|
Kicker Rank |
Name | Team | Bye Week |
Average Overall |
| 1 | Stephen Gostkowski | NE | 10 | 195.20 |
| 2 | Matt Bryant | Atl | 6 | 195.20 |
| 3 | Blair Walsh | Min | 5 | 200.80 |
| 4 | Matt Prater | Den | 9 | 202.00 |
| 5 | Justin Tucker | Bal | 8 | 204.00 |
| 6 | Phil Dawson | SF | 9 | 204.00 |
| 7 | Sebastian Janikowski | Oak | 7 | 213.60 |
| 8 | Dan Bailey | Dal | 11 | 222.20 |
| 9 | Josh Brown | NYG | 9 | 223.00 |
| 10 | Randy Bullock | Hou | 8 | 226.80 |
| 11 | David Akers | Det | 9 | 220.20 |
| 12 | Steven Hauschka | Sea | 12 | 254.00 |
| 13 | Greg Zuerlein | StL | 11 | 242.60 |
| 14 | Mason Crosby | GB | 4 | 260.00 |
| 15 | Garrett Hartley | NO | 7 | 250.80 |
| 16 | Lawrence Tynes | TB | 5 | 257.20 |
| 17 | Robbie Gould | Chi | 8 | 254.80 |
| 18 | Mike Nugent | Cin | 12 | 254.00 |
| 19 | Adam Vinatieri | Ind | 8 | 263.60 |
Bye Week Advice for Place Kickers
When it comes to kickers, there isn't too many situations where you absolutely have to keep them through the bye week. As of today, I would not categorize any NFL place kicker as a must keep. If you drop your kicker and someone else picks them up, so be it. The only exception is when you have a kicker that is consistantly scoring more than 10 points a game.
The only time I would recommend keeping a kicker is when they have a great matchup coming up the next week after the bye. The best advice I can give you is to look towards the following weekends matchups and find the kicker with the best matchup as soon as you are allowed to.
Here are the Fantasy Kickers stats for the 2012 season:
Top Fantasy Place Kickers 2012 Stats
| Kicker | Team | Bye Week |
FG 0-39 | FG 40-49 | FG 50+ | Missed FG |
PAT |
| Stephen Gostkowski | NE | 10 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 66 |
| Matt Bryant | Atl | 6 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 44 |
| Blair Walsh | Min | 5 | 18 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 36 |
| Matt Prater | Den | 9 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 55 |
| Justin Tucker | Bal | 8 | 16 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 42 |
| Phil Dawson | SF | 9 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 29 |
| Sebastian Janikowski | Oak | 7 | 20 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 25 |
| Dan Bailey | Dal | 11 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 37 |
| Josh Brown | NYG | 9 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Randy Bullock | Hou | 8 | - | - | - | - | - |
| David Akers | Det | 9 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 44 |
| Steven Hauschka | Sea | 12 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 46 |
| Greg Zuerlein | StL | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 26 |
| Mason Crosby | GB | 4 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 50 |
| Garrett Hartley | NO | 7 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 57 |
| Lawrence Tynes | TB | 5 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 46 |
| Robbie Gould | Chi | 8 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 33 |
| Mike Nugent | Cin | 12 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 35 |
| Adam Vinatieri | Ind | 8 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 37 |
Projected Fantasy Value: 1st 4 Weeks and Playoffs
Projected 1st 4 Weeks
|
Projected 1st 4 Weeks |
Kicker | FGM | PAT |
| 1 | Matt Bryant Atl | 7.6 | 10.9 |
| 2 | Steven Hauschka Sea | 7.7 | 10.9 |
| 3 | Kai Forbath Was | 6.8 | 11.4 |
| 4 | Justin Tucker Bal | 7.2 | 10.3 |
| 5 | Stephen Gostkowski NE | 6.1 | 14.1 |
| 6 | Blair Walsh Min | 7.2 | 8.4 |
| 7 | Adam Vinatieri Ind | 7 | 9.5 |
| 8 | Shayne Graham Cle | 7.8 | 6.5 |
| 9 | Randy Bullock Hou | 7 | 9.4 |
| 10 | Josh Scobee Jac | 7.4 | 6.8 |
| 11 | Dan Bailey Dal | 6.8 | 9.6 |
| 12 | Matt Prater Den | 6.1 | 12.2 |
| 13 | Phil Dawson SF | 6.3 | 10.8 |
| 14 | Garrett Hartley NO | 5.6 | 13.3 |
| 15 | Caleb Sturgis Mia | 6.8 | 8.9 |
Week 15 Projections
|
Projected Week 15 |
Kicker | FGM | PAT |
| 1 | Justin Tucker Bal | 1.9 | 2.6 |
| 2 | Stephen Gostkowski NE | 1.7 | 3.1 |
| 3 | Steven Hauschka Sea | 1.9 | 2.8 |
| 4 | Mason Crosby GB | 1.7 | 3.2 |
| 5 | Randy Bullock Hou | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| 6 | Kai Forbath Was | 1.6 | 2.6 |
| 7 | Matt Bryant Atl | 1.7 | 2.9 |
| 8 | Matt Prater Den | 1.6 | 3 |
| 9 | Adam Vinatieri Ind | 1.7 | 2.3 |
| 10 | Josh Scobee Jac | 1.8 | 2.1 |
| 11 | Sebastian Janikowski Oak | 1.8 | 2.1 |
| 12 | Dustin Hopkins Buf | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| 13 | Ryan Succop KC | 1.7 | 2.4 |
| 14 | Shaun Suisham Pit | 1.8 | 2 |
| 15 | Greg Zuerlein StL | 1.5 | 2.3 |
Week 16 Projections
|
Projected Week 16 |
Kicker | FGM | PAT |
| 1 | Matt Bryant Atl | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| 2 | Kai Forbath Was | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| 3 | Justin Tucker Bal | 1.8 | 2.6 |
| 4 | Steven Hauschka Sea | 1.9 | 2.7 |
| 5 | Stephen Gostkowski NE | 1.7 | 3.2 |
| 6 | Adam Vinatieri Ind | 1.7 | 2.5 |
| 7 | Randy Bullock Hou | 1.8 | 2.3 |
| 8 | Mike Nugent Cin | 1.9 | 2.3 |
| 9 | Mason Crosby GB | 1.7 | 2.8 |
| 10 | Garrett Hartley NO | 1.4 | 3.3 |
| 11 | Phil Dawson SF | 1.7 | 2.7 |
| 12 | Dustin Hopkins Buf | 1.9 | 2 |
| 13 | Josh Brown NYG | 1.6 | 3 |
| 14 | Ryan Succop KC | 1.7 | 2.1 |
| 15 | Dan Bailey Da | 1.6 | 2.6 |