Kickers are usually selected in the last 2 rounds of Fantasy Football Drafts. Since most Fantasy Football leagues have 12 owners, your goal is to pick one of the top 12 kickers in the league. There are 32 teams in the NFL, so you have a better chance of landing a top 12 kicker, even in a blind draw. The difference between the best kicker and the 12th ranked kicker is only 2 points per game. Everyone knows Gostkowski et al, but who are the real sleepers? Read on and get some extra points on sleeper kickers.
sleeper #1
Rian Lindell of the Buffalo Bills finished the 2008 season as the 11th ranked fantasy producer at his position. However, that came in a year that saw one of their worst conversion rates ever, 79%. Because of this, he will fall in the eyes of most owners. When one looks further into his stats, he sees that he was forced to attempt as many kicks from 40+ yards last year as he had in the previous 2 years combined! This means that with the arrival of WR Terrell Owens in Buffalo facing Lee Evans, more 25- to 35-yard attempts are almost guaranteed, due to the fact that Buffalo has the 13th-easiest schedule for WRs. I’m looking for production in the 138-point range, a steal like your last draft pick.
sleeper #2
Garrett Hartley was perfect as a rookie for the New Orleans Saints last year, playing just 8 games. In a standard scoring format, he scored 67 points, which extrapolates to 134 points over a full season. Getting 8+ points off a kicker that you can pick up in the late round is great value, and you know Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Reggie Bush, and Pierre Thomas are going to move the ball. Kicking a dome doesn’t hurt either, and I expect the second-year kicker to see around 135 points this year.
Every year an owner takes a bite and takes a Gostkowski or Akers with 3 or 4 rounds to go, and sparks a kicker race. DO NOT get sucked into this, pick your kicker last and grab one of the sleepers mentioned above to produce maximum value. Sure a $15 steak dinner is fine, but if you can get a burger for a nickel, it sure tastes better.
