There’s not much debate over who will be the first kicker off the fantasy football draft board this year. It’s who’s next that is the question.
New England kicker Stephen Gostkowski is the number 1 ranked kicker drafted in every major fantasy football draft source. His average draft position is 94th overall, meaning in a standard 12-team league, he’s being drafted in the eighth round.
That is 13 spots higher than the second ranked kicker in ADP, Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri.
From there, the rankings feature an inconsistent pattern.
Among the top six fantasy football sites, Dallas kicker Dan Bailey is averaged as the third-ranked kicker. However, his ADP is actually ranked lower than the fourth-rated kicker Green Bay Packers’ Mason Crosby. The main issue with Crosby is that he’s the second drafted kicker in CBS fantasy leagues, but he’s the eighth drafted kicker in ESPN fantasy leagues.
The discrepancies continue with Philadelphia Eagles kicker Cody Parkey, who’s currently the second drafted kicker in NFL.com fantasy football drafts, but the 22nd drafted kicker in Yahoo fantasy football leagues.
The only consensus other than taking Gostkowski as your number-one option as kicker, is that taking a kicker early is against almost any fantasy football draft rule.
Gostkowski is the best bet as a kicker, but don’t waste an early draft pick on him. There are other kickers still available and there’s little agreement on who would provide the best option for a fantasy football team. After Gostkowski, don’t miss out on Denver Broncos kicker Connor Barth and Atlanta Falcons kicker Matt Bryant.
Both should be on teams with solid offenses, and they have quality home-field advantages for kicking field goals. Barth also should see plenty of action with the Broncos, and if Denver quarterback Peyton Manning struggles to find the end zone, he may have more opportunities than in the past to kick field goals.
