RADIO
The NFL season is just about to kick off, and we need to talk about kickers. I’m firmly in the camp that for redraft leagues, kickers should be part of fantasy football. However, if you want to nerf their scoring, I have no issues.
Either way, most leagues have kickers scoring at full force. In fact, they are very similar to tight ends (outside of Travis Kelce). Actually, they might be exactly like tight ends with Justin Tucker being the Kelce of Kickers. Last season, the top four kickers scored between 155 and 160 fantasy points. The top four tight ends after Kelce scored between 140 and 172 points.
The bigger question, is “Can kickers be predictable?” That’s what I’m here to help predict for the 2023 season. My name is Ellis Johnson and this will be my fifth season writing for RotoBaller. I write the Thursday Night Preview article and have released my positional rankings this month if you want to check them out. Now let’s talk kickers.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
How to Project Fantasy Football Kickers
Outside of the GOAT, Justin Tucker, most NFL kickers are fairly similar. Sure, some kickers have cannons and no accuracy (Joey Slye), while others have accuracy but no range (Cameron Dicker).
Another variable is kickers that play in a dome. Without the impact of weather, they tend to be more consistent. Altogether, it is easiest to look at team situation and location when drafting kickers.
The most common rule of thumb is that you want kickers on good offenses. Although this has been proven to work in the past, in my opinion, it is a lazy analysis. I believe the rule should be: “You want kickers on middle-of-the-pack offenses.”
Last season, four of the top 10 fantasy kickers were on top 10 scoring offenses. The top two kickers last season (Justin Tucker and Daniel Carlson) were on the 20th and 13th scoring offenses, respectively. As a result, don’t be surprised by the offenses I have selected for my kicker targets for 2023.
Fantasy Football Kickers to Target
Graham Gano (K, NYG)
My favorite kicker to target in fantasy drafts is Gano. He has been a mainstay in the league for years since entering the league in 2009. After moving around the league and a brief stint in the UFL, he is now the Giants kicker. I'm buying into the Giants' offense turning heads this season. From adding Darren Waller, Parris Campbell, and Cole Beasley, to securing Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones is primed to have a great year.
Gano has the perfect mix of accuracy and a big leg. Last season he hit 91% of his field goals (the longest being 57 yards), and 32 of 34 extra points. He's a sneaky pick to finish in the top five at the position.
Nick Folk & Chad Ryland (K, NE)
If you think kickers are gross anyway, why not pair your kicker with one of the stinkiest offenses? New England is not exciting, but we know that they will find a way to methodically move the chains and set up lots of field goal attempts.
Last season, Nick Folk was tied for the third-most attempts (37) and made 82% of them. This is the kind of team that would kick five field goals in a game and be content winning with 15 points.
There are rumors that Folk may not win the Patriots kicker job after they drafted a kicker, so stay tuned for updates. If Chad Ryland wins the job, he will become the target. Regardless of who it is, the Patriots' kicker will be valuable for fantasy.
Jason Myers (K, SEA)
Tied with Folk for the third-most attempts (37), Jason Myers hit an impressive 92% with the longest being 54 yards. The Seattle offense is gaining steam after bolstering their skill positions in the first and second rounds of their rookie draft.
This team might be one of the surprise top 10 scoring offenses, and Pete Carroll always manages to end drives in field goal range.
Greg Joseph (K, MIN)
Kickers in Minnesota have a very dark history. I’m convinced half the people who don’t want kickers in fantasy are Vikings fans. However, Greg Joseph is starting to rewrite this narrative.
Joseph is one of those kickers whose accuracy is mediocre, but he can hit from a distance. For example, last season he hit a 61-yarder, despite missing the most extra points in the league. He might not be consistent but remember this Vikings team has a terrible defense and will need to score as many points as they can week in and out.
Cameron Dicker (K, LAC)
Cameron Dicker is a sleeper kicker this season. Yes, you can have kickers who are sleepers. After floating around the league, he finally found his groove last season with the Chargers, hitting 21 of 22 field goals and all 24 extra-point attempts.
I believe that this offense is going to be electric and consistently find the end zone. The largest concern is that this team likes to gamble on fourth down, limiting potential field goal attempts.
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