The kicker position remains the last to be filled in most drafts, but that doesn't mean these draft-day afterthoughts don't decide more than a few contests.
How many of you were crushed by
Rob Bironas' record-breaking performance against Houston? (For what it's worth, he seemed to enjoy that when I talked to him during Super Bowl week.)
Fantasy owners utilize a number of strategies when selecting a kicker. They may gravitate toward the high-octane squads and bank on huge PAT totals (see Stephen Gostkowski) or look to the "offensively-challenged" squads for that player sure to pile up field goal tries (Robbie Gould of the Bears comes to mind there). You can look at dome and warm weather squads or play the ever-popular match-up game (it's highly effective). Whatever your path, it's still a position to be filled in standard leagues configurations and needs to be reviewed as you would any other.
15. Neil Rackers, Arizona Cardinals
Rackers offered fantasy owners his third consecutive 100-point season behind the efforts of
Kurt Warner. Don't pay too much attention to his field goal conversion rate last year. Six of his nine misses came on attempts beyond 50 yards. I anticipate Ken Whisenhunt's offense will perform more consistently this year. He has two top wide receivers and a steady (even if he's not a sexy fantasy option) back in
Edgerrin James. As he's attempted seven or more field goals from distances of at least 50 yards in four straight years, Rackers does offer bonus point potential.
14. Ryan Longwell, Minnesota Vikings
Longwell failed to top 100 points for the third consecutive year, narrowly missing the mark with 99 for the Vikings in 2007. The team made significant upgrades this off-season and have raised eyebrows and expectations in Minnesota. Longwell will be a chief beneficiary of year two of the
Adrian Peterson era, and the defense should produce short field opportunities for the offense. Longwell enjoyed kicking indoors and converted 10-of-11 attempts from 40-49 yards. Assuming
Tarvaris Jackson (
John David Booty?) can play more consistent football, Longwell may return to the heights achieved during his tenure with Green Bay.
13. Josh Brown, St. Louis Rams
Brown established a new career mark with 127 points in his fifth NFL season by successfully converting 28-of-34 field goal attempts. His accuracy drops markedly from beyond 40 yards (67 percent accuracy from 40-49 yards in his career), but he does have the leg strength to hammer home kicks from longer distances (he's converted three or more field goals from 50-plus in three straight years), and it will be interesting to see him indoors. I'm optimistic that the Rams' skill position players offer a full season of production and that the legs of
Steven Jackson put Brown in position to extend his 100-point streak to six.
12. David Akers, Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles anticipate
Donovan McNabb and
L.J. Smith will be ready to get the offense flying once again. That's good news for Akers, who was slowed by injury concerns of his own last year. He appeared in every game, converting 24-of-32 attempts to produce the seventh 100-point season of his career. His weak conversion rate from distances beyond 40 yards last season can be attributed directly to his injury. I'm most intrigued by the possibility of frequent short fields being provided by the defense. He'll be a frequent Add/Drop candidate for matchup concerns.
11. Kris Brown, Houston Texans
You want to talk about a powerful leg? Look no further than Brown, who converted 12-of-15 attempts from distances beyond 40 yards, including a perfect 5-of-5 from 50-plus. The 10th-year pro converted a career-best 40 PATs last season as the Texans' offense surged behind
Sage Rosenfels. Gary Kubiak clearly has confidence in Brown's leg, and this offense should be vastly improved with more options in the running game and Johnson back at full strength.
10. Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers
Kaeding produced the fourth consecutive 100-point season of his career in 2007, successfully converting 24-of-27 field goal chances and 48 PATs behind
LaDainian Tomlinson and
Philip Rivers. Rivers has averaged 22.75 field goal conversions in his four seasons with the Chargers and will undoubtedly benefit from Rivers' continued growth and the presence of
Chris Chambers in the passing game.
9. Josh Scobee, Jacksonville Jaguars
Scobee may fly under the radar in some leagues given the fact that he missed half of the 2007 campaign. He returned to the lineup during the Jaguars' late-season run and converted 26 PATs and 11 field goals in his final seven games. In fact, Scobee converted three or more PATs in five of those games (seven in Week 16) and multiple field goals twice. Ultra-efficient
David Garrard will lead an improved offense in 2008 and offer Scobee ample scoring opportunities. Garrard doesn't turn the ball over, and the powerful combination of
Fred Taylor and
Maurice Jones-Drew will traverse the field and put Scobee in position to score frequently.
8. Phil Dawson, Cleveland Browns
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| Cleveland's offense should put Phil Dawson in position to have another big year in 2008. (Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images) |
Dawson experienced a career year behind the offensive explosion from
Derek Anderson and the passing attack. He scored a career-high 120 points, successfully converting 26-of-30 field goals and 42 PATs (three or more in nine different games). The Browns kept Dawson flush with opportunities from close range (16-of-18 from 39 yards or closer). He also vastly improved his production from 40-49 yards out, converting 7-of-8 attempts from that range in 2007 after missing six of 12 tries from similar distances in 2006. The Browns have actually improved the offense for 2008, bringing in
Donte' Stallworth as the third wide receiver, and
Joe Thomas will be even more dominant on the O-Line. Dawson could challenge his personal point record this year.
7. Shayne Graham, Cincinnati Bengals
There are many questions swirling about concerning the Cincinnati offense. Who will run the ball? Who will be catching darts from
Carson Palmer other than
T.J. Houshmandzadeh? Will
Chad Johnson sit down? One of the areas that doesn't concern Marvin Lewis is his placekicker. Graham has averaged 31.75 field goal attempts during the past four years and has converted 85 percent of them in his career . The possible changes in the offense may force Graham to make more attempts from longer distances. As such, Graham's conversion percentage may take a hit, but fantasy owners will take the extra point from those attempts converted from 40-plus.
6. Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots
The jury remains out about Gostkowski's ability to convert field goals from long distances, but when you're routinely lining up for PATs, does it matter? Gostkowski kicked three or more PATs in 15 of 16 games last season and attempted only five field goals from distances beyond 40 yards. That's the only reason that he slides to this point in my rankings. The Patriots can't possibly replicate last year's ridiculous scoring pace, can they? If not, Gostkowski's leg will be tested. He may be up to the task (I've seen him convert from long distances in pregame activity and in camp), but I slide him down until I see it on game day.
5. Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers
This second-year kicker from Colorado has leg to spare. Crosby attempted 19 field goals beyond 40 yards and converted 3-of-5 from distances of 50-plus. He tied "Super Jock" Bironas for the highest number of field goals attempted last season with 39, and converted 48 PATs in Brett Favre's swan song. (I recently read about a 6,661-card Yankee Stadium Legacy insert set produced by the Upper Deck trading card company. Should they produce a similar set for the historical moments of Favre's career? I count at least that many, right?) The move to
Aaron Rodgers (
Brian Brohm?) won't be without its hiccups, and that portends to another huge number of field goal attempts.
4. Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts
Vinatieri extended his streak of 100-point seasons to 12 with another strong year for the Colts. He converted 49-of-51 PATs and 23-of-29 field goal attempts. Interestingly, Vinatieri attempted only three field goals beyond 40 yards. Seriously, that's a very interesting stat break. Vinatieri converted three or more field goals in 10 games last year, and we can reasonably expect
Peyton Manning and
Joseph Addai to keep Vinatieri in business in 2008.
3. Robbie Gould, Chicago Bears
The Bears rewarded Gould's performance by making him the highest paid kicker in the game. Given the state of the Chicago offense, I suspect that he earns every penny of that contract this season. Gould has attempted 14 field goals from distances of 40-49 yards in back-to-back seasons while attempting 36 field goals in each year. The Bears are still banking on
Cedric Benson to be available and team with
Matt Forte and improve the woeful running game. Of course, they'll also hope to see resurgences from
Rex Grossman and the defense that led them to a Super Bowl. Either way, Gould knows how to kick through the swirling winds of Chicago, as proven in the past two seasons. He'll line up frequently again this year.
2. Rob Bironas, Tennessee Titans
What else can you say? Bironas turned in a game for the ages with his eight-field goal performance against the Texans in Week 7. Record-shattering performances aside, Bironas still produced 11 multi-field goal performances last season. The Titans upgraded their receiving corps with the additions of
Justin McCareins and
Alge Crumpler, the trusty veteran tight end who will serve as
Vince Young's safety valve. With
LenDale White pounding the ball on the ground and an improved passing game, Bironas will trot out for another huge field goal total. How about the fact that Bironas only missed two of 15 attempts from beyond 40 yards?
1. Nick Folk, Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys selected Folk out of Arizona in the sixth round of last year's draft, and the move paid immediate dividends in the high-powered Dallas attack. Folk took full advantage of the opportunity to cap of the frequent touchdowns scored by the Cowboys and demonstrated a strong leg by converting 9-of-12 attempts from distances beyond 40 yards.
Tony Romo and the Cowboys are stacked to rack up big points again this year and have also improved the defense, meaning that Folk should be flush with ample opportunities. He converted three or more PATs in 12 different games (there were two PAT shutouts at the end of the year in which he converted two field goals in each game). Barring a disaster, Folk will pile up points in 2008.
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