Fantasy Football Top 15 Kickers For 2010: Final Preseason Rankings

It’s easy to overlook kickers. In fact, I wouldn’t reach to draft one prior to the last round or two, because the potential upside that one has over the other is minuscule (and having the depth in other places is more important).

That’s because you just never know when a one- or two-week struggle is going to lead a team to make a change.

Still, there are options that have more upside than others, so don’t simply just grab anyone and figure you’ll be fine. With that said, let’s take a look at how I’d rank the Top 15 options:

Nate Kaeding - San Diego Chargers
Stephen Gostkowski - New England Patriots
Mason Crosby - Green Bay Packers
Garrett Hartley - New Orleans Saints
David Akers - Philadelphia Eagles
Matt Prater - Denver Broncos
Ryan Longwell - Minnesota Vikings
Lawrence Tynes - New York Giants
Rob Bironas - Tennessee Titans
Dan Carpenter - Miami Dolphins
Jay Feely - Arizona Cardinals
Neil Rackers - Houston Texans
Jeff Reed - Pittsburgh Steelers
Shayne Graham - Baltimore Ravens
Robbie Gould - Chicago Bears

Thoughts:

With Neil Rackers officially winning the job in Houston, he now gets a bump in these rankings and should be seen as a viable starter from the beginning of the season.
While Robbie Gould is a good option, don’t ignore the fact that he hasn’t connected on more then 26 field goals each of the past two seasons. He’s better off as a one-week fill-in for now.
In the past two seasons, Prater has made seven kicks of 50 or more yards. Don’t underestimate the advantage he has of kicking in Denver for half the season. He certainly has a lot of upside.
Will Jeff Reed’s value decrease due to the absence of Ben Roethlisberger early in the season? Potentially, but you could just as easily argue that they’ll have a tougher time finding the end zone, meaning more opportunities for the kicker. He’s a low-end option, but a viable one.

What are your thoughts on these rankings? Who is ranked too high? Who is ranked too low?

Make sure to check out Rotoprofessor’s 2010 rankings:

Also, make sure to check out our recent rookie rankings:

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