Fantasy Football Week 2 Rankings: Top 15 Kickers

While kickers are often overlooked, they still play an important role on a week-to-week basis.  Let’s take a look at how I would rank the Top 15 for the upcoming week:

1. David Akers - Philadelphia Eagles - at Detroit
2. Stephen Gostkowski - New England Patriots - at New York Jets
3. Ryan Longwell - Minnesota Vikings - vs. Miami
4. Mason Crosby - Green Bay Packers - vs. Buffalo
5. Nate Kaeding - San Diego Chargers - vs. Jacksonville
6. Sebastian Janikowski - Oakland Raiders - vs. St. Louis
7. Rob Bironas - Tennessee Titans - vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Lawrence Tynes - New York Giants - at Indianapolis
9. Adam Vinatieri - Indianapolis Colts - vs. New York Giants
10. Garrett Hartley - New Orleans Saints - at San Francisco
11. Matt Prater - Denver Broncos - vs. Seattle
12. John Kasay - Carolina Panthers - vs. Tampa Bay
13. Neil Rackers - Houston Texans - at Washington
14. Matt Bryant - Atlanta Falcons - vs. Arizona
15. Dan Carpenter - Miami Dolphins - at Minnesota

Thoughts:

• It will certainly be an intriguing matchup, with the Jets defense vs. the Patriots offense.  Would it be surprising to see the Patriots stall short of the goal line a few times, giving Gostkowski the opportunity to kick a few field goals?
• In 2009 Ryan Longwell went 17-for-18 kicking field goals at home.  You have to like those numbers.  Whenever the Vikings are at home he’s an extremely strong play.
• Janikowski has a big leg, that’s no secret.  Will the Raiders offense be able to put him in position to get points, however?  That’s the million-dollar question and will be what determines his value on a weekly basis.  If the Raiders offense can get things in order, he’s going to have value.
• Don’t let one bad game (he went 0-for-2 in Week 1) for Garrett Hartley make you lose faith.  He should be fine moving forward.  I’d use him with confidence this week.
• Would it surprise anyone if there were a lot of points scored in the battle of the Manning brothers?  Both Tynes and Vinatieri should be usable in all formats this week.

What are your thoughts on these rankings?  Who’s too high?  Who’s too low?

Make sure to check out the rest of our Week 2 Rankings:

• Top 25 Quarterbacks
• Top 40 Running Backs
• Top 60 Wide Receivers
• Top 20 Tight Ends
• Top 15 Defenses (coming soon)

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