My 2019 positional preview series concludes with a look at kicker rankings for the upcoming fantasy football season. I will update my rankings for all positions during the preseason, so stay tuned for further updates. You can comment below or follow me on Twitter with any specific questions geared towards your fantasy football team. Call me crazy, but I think that kickers get a bad rap in fantasy football. Many people think leagues should get rid of the position altogether. Critics say that kicker scoring is too random. I have news for you – lots of fantasy football scoring is random.
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It is kind of random when a wide receiver catches a deep ball but gets tackled just short of the goal line, leading to an ensuing short touchdown run being scored by a short-yardage back. It’s a bit random when your stud running back’s team loses a coin toss, falls behind early and the coaches decided to abandon the running game. And it was a little random when the Los Angeles Rams’ fantasy defense led all D/ST units in scoring in Week 11 of 2018 in a game where they allowed 51 points, six passing touchdowns, and 546 yards of total offense. I for one think that D/ST scoring in fantasy football is infinitely more unpredictable and random that kicker scoring.
I am not suggesting that relying on kickers is not frustrating at times. It most definitely can be. The biggest fantasy score of my life nearly slipped through my fingers because of kicker problems. I once named my fantasy football team “Mickers Hates Kickers”. I think we can make changes to lessen the impact kickers can have in fantasy without completely ignoring their contributions. You can play in a SuperFlex league, add more Flex spots, use PPR scoring, or cease giving kickers bonus points for long kicks.
So here are my kicker rankings. Though I am a proponent of keeping kickers, you should only take them at the very end of drafts. Fantasy players should not be drafting Greg Zuerlein and Justin Tucker ahead of players like Latavius Murray and Darrell Henderson. There are plenty of fliers you can take at any position who can pay huge dividends this season. Just take a kicker in the last round or two of your draft and call it a day.
More of Mick’s Standard League Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST | K
2019 Kicker Rankings
Rank | Player | Team |
---|---|---|
1 | Harrison Butker | Kansas City Chiefs |
2 | Greg Zuerlein | Los Angeles Rams |
3 | Wil Lutz | New Orleans Saints |
4 | Stephen Gostkowski | New England Patriots |
5 | Ka'imi Fairbairn | Houston Texans |
6 | Justin Tucker | Baltimore Ravens |
7 | Mason Crosby | Green Bay Packers |
8 | Robbie Gould | San Francisco 49ers |
9 | Jake Elliott | Philadelphia Eagles |
10 | Michael Badgley | Los Angeles Chargers |
11 | Brett Maher | Dallas Cowboys |
12 | Giorgio Tavecchio | Atlanta Falcons |
13 | Adam Vinatieri | Indianapolis Colts |
14 | Jason Myers | Seattle Seahawks |
15 | Matt Prater | Detroit Lions |
16 | Dan Bailey | Minnesota Vikings |
17 | Chris Boswell | Pittsburgh Steelers |
18 | Graham Gano | Carolina Panthers |
19 | Eddy Pineiro | Chicago Bears |
20 | Aldrick Rosas | New York Giants |
21 | Greg Joseph | Cleveland Browns |
22 | Ryan Succop | Tennessee Titans |
23 | Brandon McManus | Denver Broncos |
24 | Steven Hauschka | Buffalo Bills |
25 | Randy Bullock | Cincinnati Bengals |
22 | Josh Lambo | Jacksonville Jaguars |
267 | Chandler Catanzaro | New York Jets |
28 | Zane Gonzalez | Arizona Cardinals |
29 | Cairo Santos | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
30 | Daniel Carlson | Oakland Raiders |
31 | Dustin Hopkins | Washington Redskins |
32 | Jason Sanders | Miami Dolphins |
Mick Ciallela has been writing for FantraxHQ since July 2017. He has also written for Bleacher Report. He is a lifelong sports fan and has been an avid fantasy sports player for many years. Mick was the Overall Champion of both the 2016 Football Challenge – Roto and 2017 Play 3 Football contests hosted by CDM Sports. Mick was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York and currently resides in New London, Connecticut.
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