When it comes to critical fantasy football decisions, we’re always focused on quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. Heck, even defense and special teams units get their fair share of attention as well! Yet, what about kickers? Unless your league doesn’t force you to roster one, they still score points for you, and can be the difference between winning and losing your matchup!
This brings me to my Week 15 kicker rankings. You don’t usually see kickers dissected, but that’s what I plan to do today. You’ve probably heard of expected/implied points for other positions, yet not for kickers. Let’s solve that, shall we?
We know a field-goal attempt is at least three times more valuable than an extra point, but it depends on distance. Thus, a raw field goal attempt is closer to four times more valuable than an extra point. With that in mind, here are the expected points for each kicker thus far, based on their usage.
More fantasy football fun for Week 15: Waiver Wire | FAAB Guide | Start & Sit | Loves & Hates | Stock Watch | Sleepers & Streamers | D/ST Streamers
Implied Points (Weeks 1-14)
| Player | Team | Difference | Implied Points | Fantasy PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Folk | NE | 0.0364 | 10.5636 | 10.6 |
| Rodrigo Blankenship | IND | -1.8738 | 9.8738 | 8.0 |
| Greg Zuerlein | DAL | -0.7495 | 9.5495 | 8.8 |
| Greg Joseph | MIN | -0.1922 | 9.3922 | 9.2 |
| Eddy Piñeiro | NYJ | -0.1970 | 9.1970 | 9.0 |
| Daniel Carlson | LV | 0.1935 | 8.8065 | 9.0 |
| Mason Crosby | GB | -1.1065 | 8.8065 | 7.7 |
| Matt Gay | LAR | 0.7887 | 8.6113 | 9.4 |
| Tyler Bass | BUF | -0.0462 | 8.5462 | 8.5 |
| Justin Tucker | BAL | 0.7839 | 8.4161 | 9.2 |
| Matt Prater | ARI | 0.4490 | 8.3510 | 8.8 |
| Chris Blewitt | WAS | -3.3510 | 8.3510 | 5.0 |
| Dustin Hopkins | LAC | -0.3208 | 8.2208 | 7.9 |
| Randy Bullock | TEN | -0.4100 | 8.2100 | 7.8 |
| Evan McPherson | CIN | 0.7093 | 8.0907 | 8.8 |
| Joey Slye | WAS | 0.0190 | 7.8810 | 7.9 |
| Robbie Gould | SF | 0.3130 | 7.7870 | 8.1 |
| Harrison Butker | KC | 0.7998 | 7.7002 | 8.5 |
| Graham Gano | NYG | 0.2299 | 7.5701 | 7.8 |
| Ryan Succop | TB | -0.0050 | 7.5050 | 7.5 |
| Jake Elliott | PHI | 0.6601 | 7.4399 | 8.1 |
| Chris Boswell | PIT | 0.9252 | 7.3748 | 8.3 |
| Michael Badgley | IND | 0.1710 | 7.1290 | 7.3 |
| Zane Gonzalez | CAR | 0.4295 | 6.8705 | 7.3 |
| Brandon McManus | DEN | 0.1458 | 6.8542 | 7.0 |
| Jason Sanders | MIA | -0.5241 | 6.7241 | 6.2 |
| Austin Seibert | DET | -0.3180 | 6.5180 | 6.2 |
| Cairo Santos | CHI | -0.1685 | 6.2685 | 6.1 |
| Chase McLaughlin | CLE | 0.0965 | 6.2035 | 6.3 |
| Younghoe Koo | ATL | 0.4267 | 6.0733 | 6.5 |
| Matt Ammendola | NYJ | -1.2437 | 6.0437 | 4.8 |
| Brett Maher | NO | -0.3130 | 5.8130 | 5.5 |
| Brian Johnson | WAS | 0.3280 | 5.6720 | 6.0 |
| Jason Myers | SEA | -0.1924 | 5.2924 | 5.1 |
| Tristan Vizcaino | LAC | -0.4080 | 5.1080 | 4.7 |
| Riley Patterson | DET | 0.7330 | 4.9670 | 5.7 |
| Ryan Santoso | DET | -0.4670 | 4.9670 | 4.5 |
| Aldrick Rosas | DET | -0.7978 | 4.7978 | 4.0 |
| Ka'imi Fairbairn | HOU | -0.2286 | 4.6286 | 4.4 |
| Josh Lambo | JAX | -2.7030 | 4.4030 | 1.7 |
| Matthew Wright | JAX | 0.3252 | 4.3748 | 4.7 |
| Lirim Hajrullahu | DAL | 1.7250 | 3.2750 | 5.0 |
| Cody Parkey | NO | -0.2750 | 3.2750 | 3.0 |
| Alex Kessman | NYJ | 0.0 |
Nick Folk is still the top kicker based on usage, but Greg Zuerlein continues to inch closer and closer. It wasn’t a positive week for Daniel Carlson in terms of field goal attempts, and I learned a valuable lesson that can help me improve my kicker rankings moving forward; past usage, while predictive, needs added context, such as implied point total, to maximize its effectiveness. As you will see this week, the top kickers are utilized a lot; the difference is with how many points they are projected to score compared to their seasonal average. If they are projected to score more points, then the kicker should get a bump up, and the same is true vise versa.
Hopefully, this helps explain my thought process when it comes to my kicker rankings. Speaking of which, here they are!
Week 15 Kicker Rankings
More Week 15 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | Kicker | D/ST | PPR | Flex
| Rnk | Kicker | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Zuerlein | DAL | NYG |
| 2 | Nick Folk | NE | IND |
| 3 | Tyler Bass | BUF | CAR |
| 4 | Matt Gay | LAR | SEA |
| 5 | Greg Joseph | MIN | CHI |
| 6 | Matt Prater | ARI | DET |
| 7 | Daniel Carlson | LV | CLE |
| 8 | Mason Crosby | GB | BAL |
| 9 | Justin Tucker | BAL | GB |
| 10 | Harrison Butker | KC | LAC |
| 11 | Dustin Hopkins | LAC | KC |
| 12 | Robbie Gould | SF | ATL |
| 13 | Evan McPherson | CIN | DEN |
| 14 | Randy Bullock | TEN | PIT |
| 15 | Ryan Succop | TB | NO |
| 16 | Jason Sanders | MIA | NYJ |
| 17 | Jake Elliot | PHI | WSH |
| 18 | Graham Gano | NYG | DAL |
| 19 | Chris Boswell | PIT | TEN |
| 20 | Brandon McManus | DEN | CIN |
| 21 | Brian Johnson | WSH | PHI |
| 22 | Zane Gonzalez | CAR | BUF |
| 23 | Michael Badgley | IND | NE |
| 24 | Matthew Wright | JAX | HOU |
| 25 | Kaimi Fairbairn | HOU | JAX |
| 26 | Brett Maher | NO | TB |
| 27 | Chase McLaughlin | CLE | LV |
| 28 | Younghoe Koo | ATL | SF |
| 29 | Cairo Santos | CHI | MIN |
| 30 | Eddy Pineiro | NYJ | MIA |
| 31 | Jason Myers | SEA | LAR |
| 32 | Riley Patterson | DET | ARI |
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