I believe Stephen Gostkowski and Justin Tucker will be the first two kickers taken. Those are the top 2 on my board. And of those guys, I give Gostkowski a big edge.
With kickers, I want a player on a good team. Gostkowski definitely fits that profile, with the Patriots looking very likely to score 13-plus points. With Tucker, the Ravens might contend for their division, but also could potentially fall apart and be more of a 6-10, 7-9 or 8-8 team. Tucker managed to score 140 points last year, even while Baltimore went only 8-8, but that kind of season tends to be the exception rather than the rule. Of the 20 teams that have scored more than 145 kicking points in a season, all but one of them also won 10-plus games. Of the 46 teams to score at least 140 kicking points, only one had a losing record (Neil Rackers, rocking for the 2005 Cardinals). And only eight other teams in that group failed to win at least 10 games (finishing 8-8 to 9-6-1). Latch onto a kicker on a winning team and things tend to work out well.
TEAMS WITH 140 KICKING POINTS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Record | Pts |
2011 | San Francisco | 13-3 | 166 |
1998 | Minnesota | 15-1 | 164 |
2003 | St. Louis | 12-4 | 163 |
1983 | Washington | 14-2 | 161 |
2016 | Atlanta | 11-5 | 158 |
2013 | New England | 12-4 | 158 |
2003 | Indianapolis | 12-4 | 157 |
2014 | New England | 12-4 | 156 |
2012 | New England | 12-4 | 153 |
2015 | New England | 12-4 | 151 |
2014 | Philadelphia | 10-6 | 150 |
2013 | Denver | 13-3 | 150 |
2005 | Arizona | 5-11 | 149 |
2008 | NY Giants | 12-4 | 149 |
1991 | Washington | 14-2 | 149 |
2005 | NY Giants | 11-5 | 148 |
2008 | New England | 11-5 | 148 |
2011 | New Orleans | 13-3 | 147 |
2009 | San Diego | 13-3 | 146 |
2015 | Carolina | 15-1 | 146 |
2012 | • NY Giants | 9-7 | 145 |
1996 | Carolina | 12-4 | 145 |
1999 | Indianapolis | 13-3 | 145 |
2013 | • San Diego | 9-7 | 144 |
1999 | • Miami | 9-7 | 144 |
2008 | • Philadelphia | 9-6-1 | 144 |
1985 | Chicago | 15-1 | 144 |
2010 | Philadelphia | 10-6 | 143 |
2013 | Seattle | 13-3 | 143 |
2011 | New England | 13-3 | 143 |
2006 | Chicago | 13-3 | 143 |
2012 | Atlanta | 13-3 | 143 |
2010 | • Oakland | 8-8 | 142 |
1987 | New Orleans | 12-4 | 142 |
2016 | • Baltimore | 8-8 | 141 |
2013 | • Green Bay | 8-7-1 | 141 |
2012 | Minnesota | 10-6 | 141 |
1995 | Pittsburgh | 11-5 | 141 |
2007 | Green Bay | 13-3 | 141 |
2004 | New England | 14-2 | 141 |
2013 | • Baltimore | 8-8 | 140 |
1998 | Buffalo | 10-6 | 140 |
1986 | New England | 11-5 | 140 |
2014 | Indianapolis | 11-5 | 140 |
2013 | San Francisco | 12-4 | 140 |
2011 | Green Bay | 15-1 | 140 |
—Ian Allan