How much thought have you given to a kicker when planning and researching your draft in the past? Not a lot, I’m guessing. But don’t worry, that seems to be the consensus among the majority of fantasy managers as most of them don’t place a lot of weight on their kicker picks.
When to draft a kicker?
Most managers will wait until the last two rounds to select their kicker, and I tend to agree with that strategy. Don’t be that person in your league who takes a kicker in the first or second round and gets laughed at by everyone else. Taking your kicker with your very last pick is a perfectly reasonable option because you’ll want to load up on receivers and running backs before you even consider the kicker. It’s also worth noting that you should never need to draft two of them. One kicker is plenty, and if he gets injured or comes up in a bye week, you can easily drop or stash him and grab a replacement off of waivers anytime in the season.
Who are the best kickers to draft?
Justin Tucker has consistently been one of the best kickers in the NFL throughout the last few years. He finished the 2022 season with a total of 164 fantasy points, just two ahead of Daniel Carlson. You might see him go a few rounds earlier than you’d expect, but there should still be plenty of good kickers to pick from including Evan McPherson, Harrison Butker, and Tyler Bass.
Who are some sleeper picks at K?
Graham Gano and Jake Elliott have always been decent sleeper picks, and this season shouldn’t be an exception. You can likely find them on the waiver wire throughout the season anyway, but will still be good picks if they’re the top guys left by the time you get around to taking your kicker.