ZoneBlitz Fantasy Football Kicker Ratings

In the coming weeks, ZoneBlitz will feature rankings for each fantasy position in five scoring formats. The rankings will be accompanied by a brief article highlighting some of the big names, surprises and sleepers. Combined cheat sheets for each format will be available August 1 and constantly updated based on the latest news to keep you prepared for your drafts.

Editor’s Note: Kicker rankings are the fifth of six rankings to be posted to ZoneBlitz.com. Quarterback rankings can be found here, running back rankings can be found here, wide receiver rankings can be found here, and tight end rankings can be found here.

I’m not going to go into a ton of details about kickers because there isn’t a ton to say. Generally speaking, the kickers on teams with better offenses are the best to own, though you don’t want TOO good of an offense. Guys like Garrett Hartley and Mason Crosby have struggled in the past not only by their own inaccuracies, but also by their offense reaching paydirt rather than settling for chippies most of the time.

You’ll notice Crosby way down at No. 29 on this list, and that’s not due to my anti-Green Bay bias—which I rarely if ever let cloud my fantasy judgment. His offense has little trouble reaching the end zone so he’s kicking for one point instead of three more often than not, he’s failed to kick with even 80% accuracy in two of his last three seasons, and he’s among three kickers with a reasonable chance at losing his job during training camp. Rian Lindell and Dan Carpenter are the others, but since both are on mediocre offenses at best to begin with, their rankings won’t rise much even if given the job outright at a later date. So if you see Giorgio Tavecchio (GB), Dustin Hopkins (BUF) or Caleb Sturgis (MIA) on cheat sheets in the coming weeks, don’t be surprised.

Sure, there are other potential competitions, particularly if injury situations with David Akers and Randy Bullock take a turn for the worse (the former being more likely than the latter), but otherwise things are pretty much set in the kicker universe.

One final point I’d like to make is as to why I didn’t include dynasty rankings with kickers. Yes, had I done kicker dynasty rankings, they would’ve been different from the rankings you see listed here. However, the kicker position is a volatile one in that any given year the total points scored can change drastically based on schedule (weather), accuracy, injury or an assortment of other factors. So unless you’re in a league with obscene roster sizes, you should be using your kicker position for roster flexibility during the season and revisiting your kicker on an annual basis. Every fantasy season finds another waiver wire gem. Last year it was Blair Walsh. In 2011 it was John Kasay. In 2010 it was Nick Folk.

Even in redraft leagues you can take the “don’t worry about it” approach to fantasy kickers. So don’t waste time worrying about them in dynasty leagues. Live in the now!

Have a question? Take umbrage with any of my rankings? Want to discuss the topic further? Post in the comments section and let’s chat! And if enough questions trickle in through the course of the offseason and training camp, I’ll post a few mailbag stories. Thanks for reading. Now comment away!

For Zoneblitz.com’s quarterback ratings, click here.
For Zoneblitz.com’s running back ratings, click here.
For Zoneblitz.com’s wide receiver ratings, click here.
For Zoneblitz.com’s tight end ratings, click here.
For Zoneblitz.com’s defense ratings, click here.