Fantasy Football 2019: Top 15 Kickers To Target In Your Draft
Let’s be honest: If you’re relying on your fantasy football kicker to win you a game, you probably have some bigger roster-building problems you need to address. But that’s not to say you should completely dismiss the position on your way to dominating your league.
You’re really just looking for a dependable kicker who will receive plenty of opportunities and make most of his kicks. Luckily for fantasy football players in 10- or 12-team leagues, there’s no shortage of those sorts of kickers. Sure, you’ll have to maneuver the waiver wire for bye weeks and the like, but drafting should be pretty simple.
But if you need some help, we’ve got you covered with our top 15 fantasy football kickers.
1. Greg Zuerlein, Los Angeles Rams (Bye Week: 9)
No kicker averaged more points last season than Greg the Leg, who should be healthy after missing five games with a groin injury. He’s an elite kicker on one of the best offenses in football that will play 12 of 16 games either in California or a dome.
2. Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens (Bye Week: 8)
Probably the best kicker in the league, Tucker connected on 35 of 39 field-goal attempts last season, including hitting nine from 40 yards or farther.
3. Harrison Butker, Kansas City Chiefs (Bye Week: 12)
Butker is a fine kicker, but he’s propped up by the Chiefs’ offense. He attempted 69 extra points last season (making 65), which was 16 more than the second-closest kicker.
4. Wil Lutz, New Orleans Saints (Bye Week: 9)
Lutz hit on 93 percent of his field goals last season, made 52 of 53 extra-point attempts and plays indoors. Can’t go wrong.
5. Ka’imi Fairbairn, Houston Texans (Bye Week: 10)
He benefited from an offense that could move the ball but ultimately struggled to put it in the end zone. No kicker had more points (Yahoo) than Fairbairn last season.
6. Jake Elliott, Philadelphia Eagles (Bye Week: 10)
Elliott stands to benefit from an offense that should rebound behind a healthy Carson Wentz as well as the ability to kick the football a mile.
7. Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots (Bye Week: 10)
He missed five field goals in the regular season, which feels like a lot, but he’ll get his chances and has proved in the past he can usually handle the weather and pressure.
8. Mike Badgley, Los Angeles Chargers (Bye Week: 12)
Placing a Chargers kicker in the top 10 would have been lunacy just a few years ago, but Badgley only missed two kicks total last season in limited appearances. Again, another solid offense, too.
9. Robbie Gould, San Francisco 49ers (Bye Week: 4)
Gould actually missed more PATs (two) last season than field goals (one). He could also see an uptick in chances if Jimmy Garoppolo is healthy (and good).
10. Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts (Bye Week: 6)
He’d be higher on the list if there weren’t injury concerns not only with Vinatieri himself (knee) but also quarterback Andrew Luck. The longtime kicker is 46, which makes you wonder if the aches and pains start really creeping in this season.
11. Giorgio Tavecchio, Atlanta Falcons (Bye Week: 9)
Stop us if you’ve heard this: He kicks indoors for a team that should have a pretty good offense.
12. Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers (Bye Week: 11)
Crosby will have to prove his shaky 2018 performance — he missed seven field goals — was an aberration, but he still is someone with an otherwise positive track record despite playing in Green Bay.
13. Jason Myers, Seattle Seahawks (Bye Week: 11)
Myers was among the NFL’s top point-getters with the Jets last season, and what he might lose in stalled drives, he could come close to making up for with PATs.
14. Brett Maher, Dallas Cowboys (Bye Week: 8)
Missed seven kicks last season, which isn’t great, but he did connect on six boots of 50 yards or more, which is great.
15. Aldrick Rosas, New York Giants (Bye Week: 11)
Hard to argue with the 2018 performance: Rosas made 32 of 33 field-goal attempts and 31 of 32 PATs. Pretty decent.
