Fantasy Index

Ian Allan

High scoring kickers

Accuracy, points continue to rise

Kickers are scoring points like never before. Fifteen times in the last three years, a kicker has scored 140-plus points. In the previous 41 years since the merger in 1970, only 23 kickers reached this plateau. What does this mean at fantasy drafts?

Show of hands: who thinks it makes sense to select a kicker before the last round of a draft? They’re scoring more points now than ever before.

Historically, it usually hasn’t played out well for the select-a-kicker-earlier-the-crowd strategy. I pushed around some numbers last summer that suggest that kind of strategy backfires more often than it succeeds.

But last year it played out the way pretty much the way it was supposed to. Seven kickers scored 140-plus points (a record), and most of those were guys you would expect. Stephen Gostkowski and Phil Dawson were the top 2 kickers on a lot of boards. Steven Hauschka and Matt Prater were the kickers on powerhouse teams with a good chance of going to the Super Bowl. Justin Tucker was the kicker for the defending champions. The only outsider types were Mason Crosby, who had accuracy problems the previous year, and Nick Novak of the Chargers.

But if you can select a kicker with some confidence he’s going to score 140-plus points, that’s usually a guy who’ll go much later than he should in a fantasy draft.

With teams doing a better job of preparing their players – kickers, snappers and holders – accuracy is way up, and guys are scoring more than ever before. In 2011, a record four kickers scored 140-plus points. In 2012 that record was match (four again). Then last year, it moved up to seven teams scoring in that range.

KICKERS SCORING 140-PLUS POINTS
YearTeamKickerPointsNext Yr
2011S.F.David Akers166131
1998Minn.Gary Anderson164103
2003St.L.Jeff Wilkins16389
1983Wash.Mark Moseley161120
2013N.E.Stephen Gostkowski158?
2003Ind.Mike Vanderjagt157119
2012N.E.Stephen Gostkowski153158
2013Den.Matt Prater150?
1991Wash.Chip Lohmiller149120
2005NYGJay Feely148107
2008N.E.Stephen Gostkowski148125
2011N.O.John Kasay1470
2009S.D.Nate Kaeding146109
1968NYJJim Turner145129
1996Car.John Kasay14591
1999Ind.Mike Vanderjagt145121
2012NYGLawrence Tynes1450
1985Chi.Kevin Butler144120
1999Mia.Olindo Mare144117
2008Phil.David Akers144139
2013S.D.Nick Novak144?
2006Chi.Robbie Gould143126
2008N.O.John Carney14389
2010Phil.David Akers143166
2011N.E.Stephen Gostkowski143153
2012Atl.Matt Bryant143111
2013Sea.Steven Hauschka143?
2010Oak.Sebastian Janikowski142129
1995Pitt.Norm Johnson141106
2004N.E.Adam Vinatieri141100
2007G.B.Mason Crosby141127
2012Minn.Blair Walsh141121
2013G.B.Mason Crosby141?
1986N.E.Tony Franklin14082
1998Buff.Steve Christie140108
2005Ariz.Neil Rackers140116
2011G.B.Mason Crosby140113
2013Balt.Justin Tucker140?
2013S.F.Phil Dawson140?

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