2009 Fantasy Football Sleeper Rankings: Kickers

You’ve all heard of that old saying “You Snooze, You Lose” right? Well, if you haven’t, let us introduce you to the Bruno Boys philosophy on finding those diamond in the rough fantasy football impact players or identifying a player coming off injury who is set to have a big season.

We like to call our traditional sleeper rankings, Snooze Alarm rankings,  because we focus on players who are unheard of coming into the season or are undervalued due to an injury or inconsistent play in the previous season. In some occasions we will even tackle a player who had a solid season the year before but still isn’t getting the attention he should.

Often times, these are the exact same players who either outperform their average draft position in fantasy football drafts by seasons end, or they hit your league as a free agent, but finish as a top performer on a weekly basis. With that being said, please read on and enjoy the 2009 Bruno Boys Kicker “Snooze Alarm” Rankings (that’s right we even cover Kicker sleepers).

Doing so, will allow you to not panic on draft day when a certain position starts flying off the board and should help add much coveted depth to your fantasy football roster.

Ranking System: The higher the “Snooze Alarm” Ranking, the more sleeper value the player has.

Garrett Hartley (New Orleans Saints) -  Out of 13 field goal attempts last season, Garrett Hartley made them all. He won the confidence of his coach and teammates and solidified his spot as starting kicker for the Saints’ powerful, weapon laden offense. With what is hoped to be an improved defense, New Orleans may be even better than last year, which means Hartley should see the field often.

Expect Hartley to be one of the top kickers in fantasy football leagues by the end of the season and watch him outperform the majority of the bigger names being drafted ahead of him. 

SNOOZE ALARMS: THREE ALARMS

Robbie Gould (Chicago Bears) -  With the addition of rocket armed Jay Cutler and Matt Forte’s run game keeping opposing defenses honest, the Bears should have no trouble moving the ball downfield. A dominant defense should also translate into lots of opportunities for Chicago’s offense and Gould could see even more attempts in 2009. Considering he made 26 of 29 of field goals last season and eight of 11 were more than 40 yards, snagging him as your No. 1 kicker seems like a no-brainer. But remember you should be able to do so in the last round of your fantasy football draft.

SNOOZE ALARMS: TWO ALARMS

Jason Hanson (Detroit Lions) -  If nailing 21 of 22 field goals at 38-years-old is impressive, going 8 for 8 on field goals 50 yards or longer earns Hanson a totally new level of respect in my book. If he wasn’t starting for the 0-16 Lions, he might be closer to the top of fantasy football's kicker rankings. But there is a lot of uncertainty going into the 2009 season.

However, with Calvin Johnson running deep, expect Dante Culpepper to sling the ball downfield frequently. Plus the Lions’ offense may be growing but it’s not quite there yet, so Detroit could settle for a lot of field goals, boosting Hanson’s fantasy football numbers. Even if Matthew Stafford ends up starting at some point in the season, Hanson’s value should stay consistent. Target him late in your draft and reap the benefits of his consistency, especially if your league awards additional points for 50+ yards field goals.

SNOOZE ALARMS: ONE ALARM

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