I have some interest in Jake Moody, with him being drafted by the 49ers (when kickers play for the better teams, good things tend to happen). But I will concede that the track record of rookie kickers has been underwhelming.
Since I started playing fantasy football, 14 kickers have been selected in the first three rounds of drafts. Only three of those guys have really hit it big – Jason Hanson, Nate Kaeding and Jason Elam. Sebastian Janikowski, Chip Lohmiller and Martin Gramatica also had some success but didn’t measure up to where they were chosen.
Just as commonly, teams have missed with early picks on kickers, including some guys who hardly played (John Lee, Roberto Aguayo, Steve McLaughlin and Brett Conway).
Using a draft pick on a kicker looks even iffier when considering that undrafted players have tended to perform well at the position.
In the 32-team era, 33 rookie kickers have scored at least 100 points. Just over half of those guys (17) weren’t drafted. Of the remaining 16 who were obtained by draft picks, two ended up playing for other teams. (Harrison Butker and Jake Elliott are best known for their work with Kansas City and Philadelphia, but they were drafted by Carolina and Cincinnati.)
There are three drafted rookie kickers in play this year. The 49ers selected Moody at the end of the third round. The Patriots picked Chad Ryland a half round later. And the Packers chose Anders Carlson in the sixth.
In the chart below, teams who were able to successfully pick kickers who scored 100-plus points in their first year are tagged with black dots.
ROOKIE KICKERS, FIRST-YEAR PRODUCTION | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Player | Rd | G | XP-A | FG-A | Pts |
2014 | Cody Parkey, Phi. | FA | 16 | 54-54 | 32-36 | 150 |
2017 | Harrison Butker, K.C. (Car.) | 7 | 13 | 28-28 | 38-42 | 142 |
2012 | • Blair Walsh, Min. | 6 | 16 | 36-36 | 35-38 | 141 |
2007 | • Mason Crosby, G.B. | 6 | 16 | 48-48 | 31-39 | 141 |
2020 | • Tyler Bass, Buff. | 6 | 16 | 57-59 | 28-34 | 141 |
2020 | Rodrigo Blankenship, Ind. | FA | 16 | 43-45 | 32-37 | 139 |
2011 | Dan Bailey, Dall. | FA | 16 | 39-39 | 32-37 | 135 |
2016 | Wil Lutz, N.O. | FA | 16 | 49-50 | 28-34 | 133 |
2012 | Justin Tucker, Balt. | FA | 16 | 42-42 | 30-33 | 132 |
2007 | • Nick Folk, Dall. | 6 | 16 | 53-53 | 26-31 | 131 |
2021 | • Evan McPherson, Cin. | 5 | 16 | 46-48 | 28-33 | 130 |
2019 | • Matt Gay, T.B. | 5 | 16 | 43-48 | 27-35 | 124 |
2018 | Brett Maher, Dall. | FA | 16 | 32-33 | 29-36 | 119 |
2011 | • Alex Henery, Phi. | 4 | 16 | 46-46 | 24-27 | 118 |
2017 | Jake Elliott, Phi. (Cin.) | 5 | 15 | 39-42 | 26-31 | 117 |
2014 | Chandler Catanzaro, Ari. | FA | 16 | 27-27 | 29-33 | 114 |
2003 | • Josh Brown, Sea. | 7 | 16 | 48-48 | 22-30 | 114 |
2004 | • Nate Kaeding, S.D. | 3 | 16 | 54-55 | 20-25 | 114 |
2014 | Cairo Santos, K.C. | FA | 16 | 38-38 | 25-30 | 113 |
2015 | Chris Boswell, Pitt. | FA | 12 | 26-27 | 29-32 | 113 |
2013 | • Caleb Sturgis, Mia. | 5 | 16 | 33-33 | 26-34 | 111 |
2015 | Jason Myers, Jac. | FA | 16 | 32-39 | 26-30 | 110 |
2004 | Lawrence Tynes, K.C. | FA | 16 | 58-60 | 17-23 | 109 |
2002 | Matt Bryant, NYG | FA | 16 | 30-32 | 26-32 | 108 |
2022 | • Cade York, Cle. | 4 | 17 | 35-37 | 24-32 | 107 |
2019 | Joey Slye, Car, | FA | 16 | 31-35 | 25-32 | 106 |
2015 | Josh Lambo, S.D. | FA | 16 | 28-32 | 26-32 | 106 |
2015 | Travis Coons, Cle. | FA | 16 | 22-24 | 28-32 | 106 |
2019 | • Austin Seibert, Cle. | 5 | 16 | 30-35 | 25-29 | 105 |
2009 | • Ryan Succop, K.C. | 7 | 16 | 29-29 | 25-29 | 104 |
2008 | Dan Carpenter, Mia. | FA | 16 | 40-40 | 21-25 | 103 |
2006 | • Stephen Gostkowski, N.E. | 4 | 16 | 43-44 | 20-26 | 103 |
2003 | Aaron Elling, Min. | FA | 16 | 48-48 | 18-25 | 102 |
2022 | Jake Moody, S.F. | 3 | ? | ?-? | ?-? | ? |
2022 | Chad Ryland, N.E. | 4 | ? | ?-? | ?-? | ? |
2022 | Anders Carlson, G.B. | 6 | ? | ?-? | ?-? | ? |
—Ian Allan