RADIO
The calls to abolish kickers in fantasy football seem to grow by the year, but most leagues continue to use them. They matter. If they matter to the games on Sunday, they should matter to fantasy football, as well. Are they random? Of course, they are. But isn't fantasy football in general? When Mecole Hardman or Marquez Valdes-Scantling catches two passes for 87 yards and a touchdown, what is that? Predictable? Come on, get out of here. The beauty, the fun of fantasy football is we don't know what's going to happen. If we did, where's the fun in that? Sure, our wallets would surely love it, but the perfectness of fantasy football is the chaos of it all. Embrace it. Learn to love it.
The process of finding a good kicker is really no different than finding a good wide receiver. What are we looking for? We want both players to play on a team that is going to score a lot of points. Ideally, we'd like to find a team that has a fast pace of play. The more plays that are run, the more scoring opportunities that present themselves. The point is, a lot of the same criteria we use for other players, we use for kickers too.
The most important thing you can do when evaluating kickers, however, is knowing your own league's rules. Some leagues have kickers receiving five points for 50+ yard field goal conversions. Other leagues keep all field goals at three. Some leagues have a -1 or -2 point penalty for missing an extra point. Know your league's rules. With the 2021 NFL season officially knocking, or rather kicking on the door, let's take a look at RotoBaller's kicker rankings, take a deeper look at the top-12 and start identifying some kickers we should be keeping our eye on moving forward.
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Tier 1 - Kicker Rankings
1. Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens
Tucker should be the unquestioned No. 1 kicker off the board. He had a "down" season in 2020 when he tied for seventh among kickers, but the four years prior to that he had not finished worse than fourth. The Ravens are one of the best "kicker" offenses to target because they're good, but not great. In 2020, they were sixth in red zone appearances, but only 12th in scoring touchdowns, which leads to a lot of field goal attempts. He also happens to be one of the most accurate kickers of all time. He's got one of the biggest boots in the NFL. The Ravens' offense is starting the season a little short-handed without JK Dobbins, Rashod Bateman and an injured Marquise Brown. The lack of these offensive weapons might make it difficult for the Ravens to cash in on touchdowns, but with Lamar at the helm, fantasy managers should continue to expect them to move the ball.
2. Younghoe Koo, Atlanta Falcons
Koo finished as the second-best fantasy kicker last season. He had 39 field goal attempts, which was tied for second in the NFL. He also attempted eight field goals of more than 50+ yards and made all of them. He also had nine attempts from 40–49 yards and made eight of them. There are some warning signs associated with Koo this season. First of all, fantasy managers should expect Koo to be less successful from those distances this season. His success percentage from field goals 40 yards or more would have ranked fifth overall in field goal success rate in the NFL. This type of success rate is unlikely to be repeatable. The Falcons lost Julio Jones, which throughout Matt Ryan's career has had a negative effect on the entire state of the offense. It'll be something to watch to see how the offense, and specifically Matt Ryan, handle his loss. The offense as a whole has Calvin Ridley and then they are looking for contributors from three pretty new faces. Russell Gage is thrust into a more prominent role. Kyle Pitts is a rookie tight end and Mike Davis is a journeyman running back who is expected to carry the majority of the load for the first time in his career. Fantasy managers should expect the Falcons' offense to be less productive in 2021.
3. Harrison Butker, Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs' offense is one of the best in the NFL, which is great news. They led the league in overall yards in 2020, which means the offense is regularly putting Butker into field goal opportunities. The problem is their offense is almost too successful. Last year, Butker doubled his field goal attempts compared to his extra point attempts (he had 54 extra point attempts, compared to just 27 field goal attempts). He was the only kicker in the NFL to attempt more than one field goal shorter than 19 yards. The Chiefs' offense is a great one to invest in and there's virtually no way (outside of a Patrick Mahomes injury) that he isn't one of the more busy kickers in the NFL. The issue as it pertains to fantasy is will that come via field goal attempts or extra point attempts.
4. Rodrigo Blankenship, Indianapolis Colts
While Butker and Tucker seem relatively safe as far as kickers go, Koo and Blankenship come with some risk. The Colts are losing Philip Rivers and replacing him with Carson Wentz. He was one of the worst quarterbacks in all of football last season. The hope is that being reunited with Frank Reich and an above-average offensive line will help Wentz get back on track. Last year, the Colts were eight in red zone appearances, but just 18th in their touchdown percentage. These kinds of splits led to a lot of field goal attempts. Blankenship finished with the fourth-most field goals in the NFL. If Wentz doesn't play better than he did in 2020, however, the Colts' kicker could end up disappointing.
5. Tyler Bass, Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills fielded one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL last year and it helped propel Bass to a No. 3 finish among kickers. The Bills had the second-most red zone appearances but scored touchdowns 61.8% of the time, which ranked 13th in the NFL. He attempted the seventh-most field goals and the second-most extra points last season. With the explosiveness of the Bills' offense and the way they are able to move the ball at ease, Bass makes an excellent selection among kickers.
Tier 2 - Kicker Rankings
6. Jason Sanders, Miami Dolphins
Sanders finished last season as the No. 1 kicker in the NFL. A lot of that was based on his ability to make long field goals. He had the second-most attempts from the 40–49 yard range and tied for third in 50+ yard field goals. He made 87% of those field goals, a number that is likely to decrease in 2021. While the offense did add a lot of play-makers this year in the form of Will Fuller and Jaylen Waddle, there are some questions as to how well Tua Tagovailoa will play this season. The Dolphins surprisingly had the seventh most red zone appearances, but only converted 58.3% of their 60 attempts into touchdowns. Sanders has the look of a kicker fantasy managers should be a little concerned about heading into the 2021 season due to his high rate of success from long field goals and the offensive changes at quarterback.
7. Greg Zuerlein, Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys' offense is going to look completely different in 2021 as long as their star players stay healthy. He finished as the No. 5 kicker in 2020, Last season, Zuerlein had 41 field goal attempts and only 36 extra points. That's not a trend fantasy managers should expect in 2021. In the first five games of 2020, the Cowboys wielded one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. When we look at some of the best offenses from last year, such as the Bills, Chiefs and Packers, none of their kickers had more field goal attempts compared to extra points, which is what we should expect from the Cowboys. The Cowboys will have one of the best offenses in the NFL, which is also a good bet when it comes to kickers.
8. Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers
The Packers converted an absurd 80% of their red zone appearances into touchdowns last season. The next highest was 75%. Fantasy managers can reasonably expect the Packers to experience some more red zone struggles in 2021 than they did last season solely due to some natural regression to the mean. Crosby finished as the No. 19 kicker last year, largely because the Packers only kicked 16 (!!!) field goals. He did, however, kick 63 extra points. While fantasy managers should expect Crosby to kick more extra points than he does field goals, it's likely those numbers come a bit closer together in 2021, which will increase his scoring.
9. Robbie Gould, San Francisco 49ers
Gould is one of my favorite kickers going into the 2021 season. Fantasy managers are forgetting about him because of the struggles the 49ers had on offense last season, but a lot of those struggles were because of the issues at quarterback. He also missed a few games, which lowered his overall finish. However, he was No. 3 in 2017, No. 8 in 2018 and sixth in points per game in 2019 when he missed three games. With Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance lined up for starts at quarterback, fantasy managers can rest easy the 49ers will wield a quality offense in 2021.
10. Wil Lutz, New Orleans Saints
Lutz is expected to be placed on IR as a procedural move. He should not be drafted in any format. He is likely to miss time and the Saints' offense is underdoing drastic changes with Jameis Winston at quarterback and the loss of Michael Thomas.
11. Matt Prater, Arizona Cardinals
Prater has one of the bigger legs in the NFL, but he struggled mightily with accuracy in 2020. He only made 75% of his field goals and just 92.7% of his extra points with the Lions. He signed with the Cardinals in the offseason and increased his fantasy value as a result. The Cardinals are expected to field one of the more explosive offenses in the NFL with Kyler Murray at quarterback and DeAndre Hopkins split out wide. The question will be, can he be depended upon? He's one of those kickers where fantasy managers need to know their league rules. Negative points to missed field goals and extra points should lower him in your rankings. His career field goal percentage is just over 83%, which certainly leaves something to be desired.
12. Matt Gay, Los Angeles Rams
The Rams only attempted 30 field goals last season, which was 16th in the NFL. There is some upside here though. The addition of Matthew Stafford should significantly increase the offensive production for the Rams. In recent seasons, McVay has greatly depended on the run once he got inside the red zone. Some of that was a lack of confidence, it seemed, in Jared Goff. With Stafford at the helm, he might be willing to be aggressive inside the red zone. I would expect the Rams to be one of the better offenses in the NFL, which makes Matt Gay a great kicker to target. With the loss of Cam Akers, the Rams may struggle running the football, which could increase the number of field goals they kick if they struggle in short-yardage situations.
Tier 3 - Kicker Rankings
13. Ryan Succop, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Succop stands out as a kicker who is likely ranked too low. He was tied for seventh last year among kickers. With Tom Brady at the helm and all the play-makers the Buccaneers have, fantasy managers can expect the offense to move the ball at will. They are likely to score more touchdowns than fantasy managers would like for their kicker, but No. 13 seems far too low considering the explosiveness of this offense.
14. Jason Myers, Seattle Seahawks
15. Josh Lambo, Jacksonville Jaguars
16. Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos
Last year, Joey Slye had the fifth most field goal attempts in the NFL. Why does that matter? Because he was the kicker for the Teddy Bridgewater led Carolina Panthers. Bridgewater is now the quarterback of the Broncos. Bridgewater is a fine quarterback. He showed last year he was able to move the ball decently, but they struggled mightily in the red zone. They were 28th in red zone scoring percentage and those same struggles might rear their ugly head in Denver. McManus is one kicker who could easily finish inside the top-12. Slye had the opportunity to do so last year, but made just 80.6% of his field goals and just 91.7% of his extra points.
17. Daniel Carlson, Las Vegas Raiders
Carlson is another kicker fantasy managers shouldn't forget about. They were top-10 in red zone appearances with 59, which was tied with their divisional-rival, Kansas City Chiefs. However, they were just 23rd in touchdown percentages inside the red zone. The Raiders' struggles inside the red zone last year are well-documented and they've made no additions to their offense to suggest that might change in 2021. He had the sixth-most field goals attempts and should be someone fantasy managers keep their eyes on. He has a good chance to finish inside the top-12 in 2021 and finished there last year, finishing as the No. 4 kicker.
18. Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers
19. Sam Ficken, Tennessee Titans
Tier 4 - Kicker Rankings
20. Graham Gano, New York Giants
21. Cairo Santos, Chicago Bears
22. Greg Joseph, Minnesota Vikings
23. Dustin Hopkins, Washington Football Team
Tier 5 - Kicker Rankings
24. Tristan Vizcaino, Los Angeles Chargers
We don't know much about Vizcaino, which is why he's so low, but the Chargers are expected to have one of the better offenses in the NFL. Badgley finished with 33 field goals last season, which was ranked tenth in the NFL. The problem was he only made 72.7% of them. If Vizcaino can be more successful than that, fantasy managers shouldn't be surprised if he finds himself onto fantasy rosters sooner than later.
25. Ka'imi Fairbairn, Houston Texans
26. Evan McPherson, Cincinnati Bengals
In Weeks 1–11, Randy Bullock was No. 10 among kickers in terms of points per game. Why does that matter? Because he was the Bengals' kicker last year. That timeframe was during the time when Joe Burrow was healthy. This is another offense with a ton of offensive weapons. They should be able to move the ball frequently, but their might be some red zone struggles as Burrow gets his legs underneath him. If Bullock was a top-12 kicker during Burrow's time under center, fantasy managers should keep an eye on McPherson moving forward.
27. Chase McLaughlin, Cleveland Browns
28. Jake Elliott, Philadelphia Eagles
29. Ryan Santoso, Carolina Panthers
Joey Slye was the No. 16 kicker last year, but he had the opportunity to finish inside the top-12. He had the fifth most field goal attempts in the league, but failed to finish at a respectable rate. While the return of Christian McCaffrey might lead to the Panthers finishing their drives with touchdowns at a higher rate, they are likely to still struggle in the red zone with Sam Darnold at the helm. The offensive weapons here though should keep Santoso on the sleeper list. The Panthers have the weapons to move the ball, but they lack the quarterback who can help punch their scoring opportunities into the red zone, similar to last season. If Slye had been more successful on his field goal attempts, he's a top-12 kicker.
30. Quinn Nordin, New England Patriots
31. Austin Seibert, Detroit Lions
32. Matt Ammendola, New York Jets
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