2011 Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings

I am not trying to downplay the importance of every position on your fantasy football roster, but when it comes to kickers I honestly believe that people way over think this position. When heading into the draft know that your kicker should not be drafted until the last round or two of the draft. And when the season is going, any kicker that is on a good offense that has good weather conditions will be a solid play in any given week. Field goals come and they go, as do extra points.

What you do want is consistency and that is why if you heed to the rules that I stated above, you will be more than fine at this position. That is why I am not even going to predict their possible points, as it really is just a crap shoot. Now let’s jump into the 2011 1StopShopFF Preseason Quarterback Rankings.

1. Nate Kaeding (SD) – Age 29, Bye Week 6

Consistency, good weather, good offense, what is there not to like about Nate Kaeding? Absolutely nothing if you ask the San Diego Chargers. Kaeding should be the first kicker taken off of the draft board this year in fantasy football leagues. His numbers won’t explode off of the paper, but he is the best kicker with the least amount of question marks heading into 2011.

2. Stephen Gostkowski (N.E.) – Age 27, Bye Week 7

Despite a gruesome thigh muscle injury last November, Stephen Gostkowski of the New England Patriots remains one of the best for fantasy football kickers. Great offense, great consistency, the only knock on him really is that his game weather conditions are inconsistent at times during the winter months. Before last year he was averaging about 135 fantasy points a season. He is worth the look.

3. Matt Bryant (Atl) – Age 36, Bye Week 8

2010 was much kinder to the Atlanta Falcons Matt Bryant compared to 2009, and that doubles for his fantasy football owners. Kickers can kick well beyond his 36 years of age, so don’t let that deter you. He finds himself on a young, explosive offense that will be playing in great weather for the most part of 2011. There are no guarantees, but he has scored 130 fantasy points in two of his last three seasons. You can do much worse than Bryant to start the season.

4. Mason Crosby (GB) – Age 26, Bye Week 8

The Green Bay Packers were riddled with injuries on the offensive front during the 2010 season. If luck and some good health remain on their side this season, Mason Crosby should find himself once again as a top-5 kicker in fantasy football. Expect a return of his old 130 fantasy point self.

5. Sebastian Janikowski (Oak) – Age 33, Bye Week 8

Other than Darren McFadden, Sebastian Janikowski is the only Oakland Raider that is starter worthy on a week in, week out basis for 2011. Don’t let the fact that he is Polish fool you, his leg is strong! He gets a crap load of field goal chances as his 142 points from last year shows, so if he displays any accuracy at all, he will be a solid kicker to have on your team.

6. Garret Hartley (NOS) – Age 25, Bye Week 11

2010 was a tale of two seasons for Garret Hartley. After establishing himself as a good option at kicker, Hartley struggled to start the season. After a period of being benched, Hartley came back to be the kicker that the New Orleans Saints had expected. He finished with 100 points. They rewarded him with a contact after the season so don’t expect anything less than him being the full-time starter all season long. Hartley find himself on a great offense and that will translate into plenty of fantasy football points. This is the type of kicker that you wait for in the last round of the draft and laugh at those that picked the top-5 in earlier rounds.

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7. Neil Rackers (Hou) – Age 34, Bye Week 11

Neil Rackers first season with the Houston Texans continued what we had become accustomed to when he was with the Arizona Cardinals. He played as a solid, top-12 kicker in fantasy football leagues. His 124 points from 2010 may be tough to duplicate this year, but then again, the high powered offense and dome that he finds himself with could play well into his favor. Draft him with confidence.

8. Adam Vinatieri (Ind) – Age 38, Bye Week 11

After dealing with injuries the past few seasons, Adam Vinatieri found himself once again as a top kicker in fantasy football during 2010. His 26 field goals and 28 extra points gave him 129 fantasy points to reward his loyal owners and his .929 field goal percentage was rock solid. Draft him knowing that there will be many weeks where Vinatieri will shine and many weeks where the Indianapolis Colts may not even attempt more than one field goal. There is still some juice in those 38 year old legs.

9. Robbie Gould (Chi) – Age 28, Bye Week 8

When it comes to consistency, you think of the Chicago Bears Robbie Gould. Having been a solid option as a kicker in fantasy football for years, Gould’s past four seasons have created fantasy points of 126, 119,105 and 110. You know what you are getting. Someone who will product but most likely won’t have too many top-notch games, yet he won’t go in any long-term droughts. Gould will be a top-12 kicker once again this year.

10. Alex Henery (Phi) – Age 23, Bye Week 7

Alex Henery joins the Philadelpia Eagles as a rookie out of Nebraska. He finds himself in a good position where he has a very nice offense that will give him plenty of opportunities to show off his ability. While rookies are never a sure thing, Henery should prove to be worthy of a top-12 selection in fantasy football for 2011.

11. Nick Folk (NYJ) – Age 26, Bye Week 6

Nick Folk made a great first impression with the New York Jets, nailing 30 field goals while rolling to 122 fantasy points.  With another year under Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene, the offense should be even better in 2011. That means that Folk has an opportunity to duplicate his 2010 production. He is a borderline K1 in deeper leagues.

12. Dan Carpenter (Mia) – Age 25, Bye Week 5

Dan Carpenter has had a minimum of 103 fantasy football points a year in each of his first three seasons in the NFL. The Miami Dolphins though are in no way enamored as he missed 11 of his 41 field goal chances in 2010. Carpenter should leave training camp with the starting gig. If he does, expect another 100+ fantasy point season.

13. Billy Cundiff (Bal) – Age 31, Bye Week 5

After bouncing around the league for a handful of years, Billy Cundiff found himself with the Baltimore Ravens and he produced well. Racking up 117 fantasy football points is encouraging. He really isn’t worth stashing on your bench unless you must carry two kickers. Cundiff should go undrafted in all but the deepest of leagues.

14. Shaun Suisham (Pit) – Age 29, Bye Week 11

This is where things start getting brutal with fantasy football kickers. While there are plenty of kickers left on the board that can put up a good week here and there, they are far from a guarantee. Shaun Suisham of the Pittsburgh Steelers fits that bill. Expect struggles peppered with a solid game here and there.

15. Ryan Longwell (Min) – Age 37, Bye Week 9

Ryan Longwell is proof of how quickly one can fall in fantasy football. Rated as a top-12 kicker for the past handful of years, Longwell struggled to a 81 fantasy point performance, making 17 of the 18 field goals that he had the opportunity to kick. This year Brett Favre is replaced with Donovan McNabb. They also lost Sidney Rice. With all of this it is hard to see Longwell being worthy of a permanent spot on anyone’s fantasy football roster.

16. Josh Brown (StL) – Age 32, Bye Week 5

What a surprise the St. Louis Rams were in 2010 offensively and no one benefited as much as kicker Josh Brown because of it. Getting the opportunity to smack 33 field goals, Brown went for 125 fantasy points. Becoming relevant once again in fantasy football circles is one thing, staying there is another. Depending on how Sam Bradford and crew moves the chains, Brown will either be a really nice spot-starter or someone that is more worthy of waiver wire fodder.

17. Jason Hanson (Det) – Age 40, Bye Week 9

The Detroit Lions have one of the best young offenses in all of the game and old-man Jason Hanson will be the beneficiary of that, as long as he wins the gig out of training camp against Dave Rayner. Hanson hasn’t had over 88 fantasy points since 2007 so don’t expect miracles. But if he can remain healthy, he could definitely be a very solid play during bye weeks.

18. Connor Barth (TB) – Age 25, Bye Week 8

The only good thing to say about Connor Barth is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense is maturing and it should be better in 2011, allowing Barth more opportunities to put fantasy points on the board. None-the-less, Barth most likely won’t be anything more than a pick up off of the waivers when fantasy teams are scrapping for a bye week replacement.

The Best of the Rest

Lawrence Tynes (NYG) – Age 32, Bye Week 7

Lawrence Tynes has scored over 100 fantasy points in three of the past four seasons for the New York Giants.

Ryan Succop (KC) – Age 24, Bye Week 6

Ryan Succop is solid, but unspectacular. Playing for the Kansas City Chiefs may prove to be tough on his scoring opportunities.

David Buehler (Dal) – Age 24, Bye Week 5

If the Dallas Cowboys can produce better than they have the past couple years offensively, the third year kicker out of USC could be a sleeper kicker. David Buehler is worth stashing on your roster if you have room and you are having to go into the season with a question mark at the kicker position as your lead kicker.

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