Friend of the program Bill Rehor asked about kickers in a best ball format. Is it better to select one or two? It’s an interesting enough question that I’m posting the answer as a separate post (and the logic/result also applies to defenses).
I have looked into this in the past, coming to the conclusion that it’s most certainly best to carry two. While I’m not posting the numbers, the extra value of having three kickers doesn’t merit the cost of burning another roster spot.
To answer this one, I’m setting aside the top 10 kickers. Then I’m taking the next five kickers, based on how they finished last year. All scored 121-125 points. Then we can look at how the various combinations fared – those single guys, versus each of the pairs you might have had.
One twist on this. Three of the kickers had the same bye week, so for those, I moved a score one week (nobody would pick two kickers with the same bye).
As you can see via the chart, there is extra value in selecting two. You tend to get about an extra 40 points.
If I’m in a best-ball format, I’m most certainly selecting two kickers and two defenses (though I will concede that Jonathan Williams was a hell of a player to see sitting there in the last round).
| KICKERS / BEST BALL | |
|---|---|
| Player | Points |
| Janikowski-Gano | 176 |
| Vinatieri-Gano | 174 |
| Prater-Gano | 168 |
| Crosby-Gano | 162 |
| Vinatieri-Janikowski | 162 |
| Vinatieri-Prater | 160 |
| Prater-Janikowski | 157 |
| Vinatieri-Crosby | 155 |
| Janikowski-Crosby | 154 |
| Prater-Crosby | 153 |
| Vinatieri, Ind. | 125 |
| Janikowski, Oak. | 124 |
| Prater, Det. | 124 |
| Crosby, G.B. | 122 |
| Gano, Car. | 121 |
—Ian Allan