Fantasy Index

header banner img
OUR FANTASY BASEBALL MAGAZINE IS BACK! PRE-ORDER NOW
Win here.

Around the NFL

Greg the Leg

Cowboys looking for rebound from Zuerlein

The Cowboys signed Greg Zuerlein yesterday. Yes, sorry, the signing of a kicker was probably the biggest NFL-related news item to come down the pike yesterday. It's a name that gets people interested because of past fantasy success and the cool nicknames, but it should be noted that he's available because he's coming off a disappointing season.

Zuerlein made just 73 percent of his field goals a year ago; he was 24 of 33. That's actually not a career-low; back in 2015, he converted only 20 of 30 three-point kicks. That season he dealt with a groin injury for a portion of the year; he's had various lower-body injuries during his career.

Zuerlein's 2019 season looks even worse if you look at the first-half/second-half split. In the first eight games, he had 70 kicking points. That tied for 4th in the NFL, behind only Zane Gonzalez, Justin Tucker and Josh Lambo. But everything went south for the Rams and Zuerlein in the last eight games. He had only 44 points. That was better than only four other kicking games.

KICKING POINTS, 1ST HALF/2ND HALF
Kicker1-89-16Total
Falcons4184125
Butker7077147
Lutz6777144
Gould6574139
Cowboys6571136
Sanders296998
Tucker7566141
Hopkins336396
Bailey5962121
McManus5161112
Bullock4659105
Patriots6258120
Chargers5558113
Jets225880
Myers5257109
Gay6856124
Hauschka405696
Elliott4655101
Gonzalez7651127
Seibert5451105
Colts504999
Boswell6847115
Prater6647113
Crosby5947106
Carlson444791
Fairbairn5446100
Pineiro504696
Zuerlein7044114
Lambo7543118
Slye6541106
Rosas304171
Titans383674

As we regularly point out, kicker performance is tied closely to team success. Dallas, you'll note, ranked 5th in kicking points the second half of last season. A healthy Zuerlein tied to a strong offense that is one of the favorites in the NFC East could be very good. Probably better than he would have been with the Rams.

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index