Whoa, now this is a must-read!!! I’m not going to spend an awful lot of time here on any one player. When I compete in drafts, I always draft the kicker with my very last pick. I just don’t see enough of a difference between them to choose one any sooner. Plus there is always a kicker or two that come out of nowhere and have a good season. If you missed the QB’s, RB’s or WR’s just follow those links.

Here are the top 20 kickers according to FCF

1. Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers
   46/47 PATs, 24/27 FGs, 8/10 40+yards, 118 points

   Kaeding is a great kicker for one of the best offensive team in the NFL. They certainly score plenty of touchdowns with Tomlinson and Gates, and Kaeding has not missed more than three field goals in any of the past three seasons. I expect the Chargers to score a ton of points again, and expect Kaeding to be among top scorers in the league.

2. Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts
   49/51 PATs, 23/29 FGs, 0/3 40+ yards, 118 points

   He might still be living off of his reputation, but the Colts score a ton of points, he kicks in a dome, which is good in the winter months, and even if he didn’t Vinatieri has been known to hit field goals in less than ideal conditions. He will score more in 2008 than he did last season.

3. Nick Folk, Dallas Cowboys
   53/53 PATs, 26/31 FGs, 9/12 40+yards, 131 points

   Another solid offensive team, the ‘Boys will be scoring plenty of points with Barber, TO, and Romo chucking the ball around. He does have two of his last four games in cold weather cities (Philly and Pittsburgh), but Folk had a tremendous rookie year, and he should be solid again as Dallas will be one of the best teams in football.

4. Steven Gostkowski, New England Patriots
   74/74 PATs, 21/24 FGs, 3/5 40+ yards, 137 points

   The bad news is I can’t see any way that he kicks over 70 extra points again. The good news is that the Patriots can’t possibly score again at the same rate that they did last year, so Gostkowski should be kicking more field goals. Look for him to have a similar point total.

5. Shayne Graham, Cincinnati Bengals
   37/37 PATs, 31/34 FGs, 6/8 40+ yards, 130 points

   The Bengals can’t possibly score less points than they did last season. The whole season was quite a disaster in Cincinnati, and 2008 must be better. His last three games are either in Cincinnati or Cleveland, so that isn’t exactly great scheduling for the fantasy playoffs. Graham will be one of the best kickers again this year.

6. Josh Brown, St. Louis Rams
   43/44 PATs, 28/34 FGs, 11/17 40+ yards, 127 points

   Moving from Seattle to the dome in St. Louis can do nothing but help Brown’s fantasy value. In his last four weeks, three of them are in a dome, and the fourth is in Arizona. Brown hasn’t been the most accurate kicker in the league the past few years, but he has a cannon for a leg, and he is good for some deep field goals every year.

7. Rod Bironas, Tennessee Titans
   28/28 PATs, 35/39 FGs, 13/15 40+ yards, 133 points

   Bironas kicked over 10 more field goals than he ever had in his career in 2007. I think he might be the 2007 kicker that doesn’t come even close to repeating his numbers in 2008. The Titans aren’t going to score a lot of touchdowns though, so their drives have a good chance of stalling in field goal range. Bironas should have another good year.

8. Matt Stover, Baltimore Ravens
   26/26 PATs, 27/32 FGs, 8/13 40+ yards, 107 points

   Stover has been one of the most consistent kickers in the NFL for a long time now. He will be hurt by his team’s inability to score touchdowns, but when they get him field goal chance, he will most likely convert the chance. His five misses last year were the most since 2003. Unfortunately, the end of his schedule puts him in Baltimore in December three of the last four weeks.

9. Phil Dawson, Cleveland Browns
   42/43 PATs, 26/30 FGs, 8/10 40+ yards, 120 points

   2007 was a major surprise for the Browns, as their offense hasn’t been that prolific as long as I have been alive. Another cold weather kicker, the Browns are even in Cleveland or Philly for the last three weeks of the season. I really don’t see Dawson having so many PAT chances this coming season, or being as accurate on field goals.

10. Jeff Reed, Pittsburgh Steelers
    44/44 PATs, 23/25 FGs, 4/6 40+ yards, 113 points

    Heinz Field is a LONG way from being a kicker’s paradise, but Jeff Reed was still one of the most accuarate kickers in the league last season, as he was perfect on extra points, and missed just two field goals. The Steelers are a middle of the road offensive team, so his chances are somewhat limited.

11. Robbie Gould, Chicago Bears
    33/33 PATs, 31/36 FGs, 12/16 40+ yards, 126 points

    After an incredible 2006 season, Gould was pretty much the first kicker off the board in most drafts. And just like Neil Rackers the year before him, Gould couldn’t continue that success into 2007. Not to say he had a bad year by any stretch, but the terrible Bears offense just didn’t get him as many PATs as he had the season before. I expect Chicago to struggle offensively again, and his point total from last year is probably the most you can expect.

12. Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers
    48/48 PATs, 31/39 FGs, 12/19 40+ yards, 141 points

    So much of his ranking depends on #4. I really expect Aaron Rodgers to struggle seom at quarterback this year, especially now with all of the extra pressure that Favre has heaped on him with this controversy. Crosby was perfect with PATs, and only missed one field goal inside of 40 yards. He struggled past that, but the Packers got him enough attempts that he still had a great point total by the end of the year. Don’t expect 140 points again, Brett Favre, or no Brett Favre.

13. Jason Elam, Atlanta Falcons
    33/33 PATs, 27/31 FGs, 10/14 40+ yards, 114 points

    One of the most reliable kickers in football over the past ten years has left his Denver home for Atlanta. The good news about that is he won’t be kicking in the snow by late October. The bad news is that the Falcons offense stinks worse than a homeless convention, so his value takes somewhat of a hit. Elam has shown incredible leg strength at 50+ yards (including a record-tying 63 yarder) over the years, and you can put 110 points in the bank with him.

14. Lawrence Tynes, New York Giants
    40/42 PATs, 23/27 FGs, 8/8 40+ yards, 109 yards

    At several times during their improbable Super Bowl run, Tynes was practically booed out of Giants stadium, and the fans were calling for his head on a stick. Somehow by the end of the season he got a contract extension, and now is entrenched as the Giants kicker. If you look at the stats, he was perfect from 40+ yards, which means he missed four attempts under 40 yards. He will give you fits sometimes, and he won’t win a week for you, but there are worse options than Tynes and the Giants offense. That stadium and its swirling wind is just a terrible place to kick in the winter.

15. Neil Rackers, Arizona Cardinals
    47/48 PATs, 21/30 FGs, 8/15 40+ yards, 110 points

    After leading the league with an astounding 40 FGs made and 95% success rate in 2006, Rackers hasn’t hit 30 or 76% since. The offense can definitely make some plays, and his extra points are way up, but he is just missing field goals at an alarming rate, and if he has another 75% kind of season, don’t be surprised if you see a new kicker in the desert.

16. Mike Nugent, New York Jets
    23/24 PATs,29/36 FGs, 7/12 40+ yards, 110 points

    The Jets’ offense struggles to say the very least, and Nugent has shown inconsistencies from deeper distances. The Jets did spend a second round pick on him, and he has shown improvement in each of his seasons in the league, so he has room to move up the rankings. But he has to hope that the Jets’ offseason spending spree helps the offense to give him some more opportunities.

17. John Kasay, Carolina Panthers
    27/27 PATs, 24/28 FGs, 8/11 40+ yards, 99 points

    Last season was a complete disaster for the Panthers, and in turn Casey wasn’t blessed with a ton of opportunities to score. He has shown good ability from 40+ yards over the past few years, which often nets you some extra fantasy points, so he has some added value there. However, he needs the offense to get back into gear or else he will sit in the middle of the pack among kicker options.

18. Josh Scobee, Jacksonville Jaguars
    26/27 PATs, 12/13 FGs, 3/4 40+ yards, 62 points (8 games)

    Considering that he missed half of the season due to injury, these are pretty good numbers for Scobee. The Jacksonville offense has finally started to show some life over the past couple of seasons, and Scobee is reaping the benefits. He missed just one field goal in 2007, which is a great improvement over previous seasons when he has had some issues, especially over 40 yards. Don’t stretch to get him, but he could be a good option for your kicker’s bye week.

19. Shaun Suisham, Washington Redskins
    29/30 PATs, 29/35 FGs, 11/15 40+ yards, 116 points

    After not having a reliable place to work for the previous two seasons, Suisham was the Redskins kicker all year long, and should have bought himself another full season with his performance in 2007. Even though kickers are jettisoned around the league like it is going out of style, I still wouldn’t want my guy to be one that was not even playing full seasons in the recent past.

20. Matt Bryant, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
    34/34 PATs, 28/33 FGs, 6/10 40+ yards, 118 points

    Bryant got a decent number of attempts at extra points and field goals, but I wouldn’t expect that to continue. If you look past last season’s good performance, there isn’t a lot to get excited about in Bryant’s past. The offense is still pretty pedestrian (unless some nameless QB from Wisconsin comes down), and I wouldn’t expect Bryant to repeat what he did in 2007.

That’s it for the kickers

Are they really football players? Well, that’s up for debate, but they can help you win your fantasy football league, so we’ve paid attention to them. Let us know how we did, drop us a comment below. Next up, we’re onto the defensive side of the ball.

As always, your questions (draft questions, adds, drops, trades) and comments are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.

Tags: Adam Vinatieri, Jason Elam, Jeff Reed, John Kasay, Josh Brown, Josh Scobee, Lawrence Tynes, Mason Crosby, Matt Bryant, Matt Stover, Mike Nugent, Nate Kaeding, Neil Rackers, Nick Folk, Phil Dawson, Robbie Gould, Rod Bironas, Shaun Shuisham, Shayne Graham, Steven Gostkoski

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