Fantasy Makeover: Kickers Edition Eric Huber, Fantasy Football Guest Writer Jun 9, 2008 | More

  “Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are out there performing all the time. As kickers, we're not out there much. Our teammates build the cake, and sometimes we're fortunate enough to put the icing on it.”- Adam Vinatieri

Do you ever wish that kickers could be more than just fantasy chum?   I know I’m not the only one who notices that every year when draft day rolls around it always seems like the one position that is pretty much ignored, value wise, is kicker.   It’s the position every draft owner waits until the last couple of rounds to fill.   Why?   And what can fantasy leagues and owners do to change it?

For starters there really is no big superstar at the kicker position as the only skill involved is being able to kick the ball through the uprights.   I mean, correct me if I’m wrong, but you never really see kickers running 60 yards downfield to practice their golf game in the end zone.   And it’s not like they’re throwing 30 yard darts and taking on nasty hard-hitting linebackers on an every down basis.   Yeah, we come up with rankings, but basically in a nutshell they mean nothing because any kicker on that short list could rise up and be the leader in the stat column.   So, on the outside it looks like there is little skill involved, which ultimately equates to little value for fantasy owners come draft day, but what if we were to change that?  

To keep the evolution of fantasy football we must come up with new ideas to make every position and player important in achieving the ultimate goal; winning!   There have been advancements in scoring when it comes to skilled position players (long yardage plays, completion percentage, etc), but the one position that always stays the same is kicker.   Why?   Why can’t we make the kickers score more/less points?   So what if they only trot on the field a couple of times per game; we can still make them a factor in the fantasy world.   How you ask?   Listed below are three ways we can make kickers important from a value perspective come draft day and the season as a whole.  

1. Change in Yardage Increments
Like stated above some fantasy leagues have been implementing scoring that allows kickers to score bonus points for incremental yardage.   See Chart 1 for a detailed example.  

Chart 1

  Suggestion: Cut the increments in half.   See Chart 2 for a detailed example.

Chart 2

Chart 2 works, and here’s why: Last season only three kickers converted four or more field goals of 50+ yards, and only nine converted three or more.   It rewards the proper way based on each kicker’s talent.  

2. Bonus Points
A vast majority of fantasy leagues use the traditional 1 point per extra point made, and 3 points per every field goal made.   Some leagues have gone one step further and have started to give bonus points for longer field goals made like shown above, but is this enough of a reward?

For example, if a kicker converts five field goals perfectly in a game he should be rewarded more than just what each field goal is worth.   Yes, kickers should have no problems kicking a pigskin between two goal posts, but to do it five to six times in a single game without missing is pretty impressive, and deserves to be recognized.  

Suggestion: How about giving him 1 bonus point per every field goal made if he has a perfect day?

Example: Mason Crosby connects on field goals of 30 and 32 yards, and doesn’t attempt another field goal.   Not only would he get three points for each field goal made because it’s in the 30 yard range, but he would also get two bonus points for not missing one.   Now, this may seem minor, but in the big picture if a team wins by just one or two points it could be huge for we all know that in fantasy football every point counts.      

3. Negative Points
This goes hand in hand with additional bonus points and change in yardage increments as noted above, with one exception; a kicker cannot receive negative points for any field goal attempt at or above 50 yards.   This means that kickers like Sebastian Janikowski, who converted six of 11 field goals of 50+ yards, would hold more value, which theoretically makes sense because it takes a lot more talent/athleticism to convert longer field goals.  

Suggestion: Give negative points for missed field goals. See Chart 3 for a sample of this.

Chart 3

This chart also works well.   Think about it, not only will you have think real hard on which kicker to take and when on draft day, but from a week to week basis as well.   This is where weather conditions could play a huge role in deciding who you’re going to start.

“It was a straight crosswind, a little in my face. I've never seen anything like it. Mother Nature had a tough night and decided to take it out on us and the Bears.” -Joe Nedney

Overall, here’s how I see it:   Kickers only get so many opportunities to score points in the fantasy world, so by rewarding them a little more for doing their job, and at the same time subtracting points when they don’t do their job we ultimately create a more balanced fantasy team and draft which also makes the draft experience as a whole a little more exciting.  

Just imagine how much more challenging and fun drafting and maintaining the kicker position could be if we could evaluate them using other stats besides just extra points and field goals made.   I know it’s hard to change and adapt to something new, but if fantasy football is to keep evolving change must happen.    

If you want to implement this scoring system, watch for part two to this article which will include rankings and reasons to draft certain kickers.     

Thanks for reading!