Laugh if you must, but kickers are just as important in fantasy football as their skill position counterparts. While the points may come in trickles, having a good kicker on your team may just give you those extra points needed to beat out your opponents in a tightly-contested matchup on any given week.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the kickers that can do the most damage heading into the new NFL season. If you missed out on our other fantasy football previews, simply head on over to our sleeper picks for quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends right after this.
[sc:Football ]Top 10 NFL Fantasy Kickers for 2015-16
10. Josh Brown (New York Giants)
[sc:NFL240banner ]The New York Giants will be trotting out a healthy and potent offense come opening kickoff, which means Josh Brown will have more than just the 26 field goal attempts he had last season.
Brown is a well-rounded kicker; he missed only two of those field goals from last year, and made all four of his attempts from 50 yards out. Regardless of how close or how far Eli Manning and the rest of the Giants offense can push the ball down the field, Brown is a solid kicker that can bail them out of tight situations.
9. Connor Barth (Denver Broncos)
After missing the 2013 season due to an injury to his Achilles heel, Connor Barth is back – this time with the Denver Broncos – to start blasting balls through the uprights once again. He may have only played five games for Denver last year, but made a respectable 15 out of 16 field goal attempts, including two games with five field goals each.
Barth also has quite a leg on him too, as he connected on six shots from 50 yards. He’ll be able to give the Broncos a boost in scoring production should Peyton Manning go through the motions of regression given that the future Hall-of-Famer is entering the twilight of his remarkable career.
8. Nick Folk (New York Jets)
Let’s face it: the New York Jets still has an iffy offensive lineup this coming season, much like last year. This should explain why Nick Folk had the most field goal attempts (39) last season. Although he missed seven of those attempts, he didn’t miss from short distances – converting all 20 of his tries from less than 40 yards. Making three kicks from 50 yards out last year also adds to his value as a decent pickup.
Folk’s fantasy owners will definitely look forward to him being the actual focal point of the Jets’ scoring production once again.
7. Shaun Suisham (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Consistency is Shaun Suisham’s redeeming trait for not really having a cannon for a leg. He’s converted at least 90 percent of his kicks for three consecutive seasons now, but only made one out of the three attempts he had from 50 yards or more last year. He did, however, make all ten of his tries from 40-49.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will look to turn their offensive drives to touchdowns instead of field goals on every possession, though, so Suisham’s production will come from extra-point attempts more often than not. He made all 45 of his point-after kicks last season (good for seventh in the league).
6. Dan Bailey (Dallas Cowboys)
Similar to Suisham’s situation in Pittsburgh, Dan Bailey had to put in less work from farther distances a year ago as the Dallas Cowboys were putting up touchdowns in bunches. Bailey led all kickers last season with 56 extra points made, but only attempted 29 field goals.
And although the fifth-year special teams stalwart for Dallas missed four of his field goal attempts last year, he hit five out of his seven tries from 50 yards and beyond. Without DeMarco Murray in the Cowboys’ lineup anymore, Bailey’s field goal numbers could very well go up this season.
Create a betting account now to boot some of your predictions through the betting uprights.
5. Dan Carpenter (Buffalo Bills)
From one Dan to another, Dan Carpenter of the Buffalo Bills is another kicker with a strong leg. Carpenter went 6-for-8 last season from 50 yards out, and 34 out of 38 field goals in total.
He’ll likely benefit from having Rex Ryan as the new head coach of the Bills, as Ryan prefers to run his offense with good ball control and positioning rather than letting the passing game’s sparks fly. Well, with a subpar offensive lineup, DC3 could very well turn his craft into his animated coach’s favorite go-to weapon in Buffalo.
4. Matt Bryant (Atlanta Falcons)
The Atlanta Falcons have the luxury of having two “Matts” producing big numbers for their team: quarterback Matt Ryan (of course), and kicker (yes, kicker) Matt Bryant. Bryant made the most number of field goals from long distance last season with seven 50-yarders. All three of his misses out of 32 attempts last year were also from that range, which means he’s dependable in standard field goal situations all the same.
Oh, and Bryant mostly plays inside the Falcons’ dome of a home, so he’ll rarely be bothered by the unforgiving wind conditions come the winter stretch in places like Chicago and other outdoor stadiums from the East Coast.
3. Adam Vinatieri (Indianapolis Colts)
Exactly how much does Adam Vinatieri have left in in his tank? 2014 was another stellar year for the three-time Super Bowl champ (and two-time Super Bowl game-winning kicker to boot). The Indianapolis Colts kicker made all but one of his 31 field goals last regular season, including going a perfect 3-for-3 from 50 yards out.
Now at the age of 42, this season could very well be Vinatieri’s last shot at being a top-tier kicker. And with all of Indy’s recent offensive upgrades, there’s no better time than now to draft the championship-tested kicker to help every owner win a fantasy trophy of their own.
2. Cody Parkey (Philadelphia Eagles)
As one man with a legendary leg is approaching his graceful exit from the sport, another kicking star in the making is just beginning to bloom. Cody Parkey had a phenomenal inaugural year as a pro for the Philadelphia Eagles by making 32 out of his 36 field goal attempts with a perfect 4-of-4 from 50 yards. Parkey even broke the NFL rookie scoring record with 150 points last season.
The undrafted rookie out of Auburn will continue to thrive as long as he’s part of Chip Kelly’s high-octane offense. As it stands, Parkey is a stud kicker for standard and keeper leagues alike.
1. Stephen Gostkowski (New England Patriots)
A famous quote taken from the magnificent TV series The Wire would best explain Stephen Gostkowski’s standing as the best kicker in fantasy football: “The king stay the king.”
Gostkowski was the top fantasy kicker last season with a total of 168 points (in standard league formats). The New England kicker made all but two of his 37 field goal attempts last season, and made the most number of 40-49 yarders with 12.
Even though he only tried and made one field goal from 50 yards out, his production this season will still be padded by the huge number of extra points that the New England Patriots will have him put up (Gostkowski had 51 XPMs last year). And with Tom Brady out for the first four games of the season, Gostkowski will likely have more opportunities to pile up fantasy points via field goals early on, making him an even more attractive kicking stud than the year before.
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