Kickers Corner

Welcome back to the 2017 NFL research from the bottom up. If you have not yet done so, check out my posting for Defenses Here. For many, the way to build is to start from the top, pick out the QB that they want. They leave Def and Kicker to the end and just take whomever you can fit. For some, they choose to start at the bottom and work their way to the top. This way no spot goes without proper thought. I am here to help you by doing that research for you with the focus at the bottom of the roster.

Once we are done looking at the bottom @Choppodong is ready to get you focused on the games with his Wishbone post. Then @ffootballgeek will join Chop for the FREE Vegas Lines Pod. There really is so much information dropping everyday that I would suggest checking out our Football Advice Page regularly if you are not in Slack or just stop waiting and join the DFS Army to get those notifications as soon as an article drops. You can Register For DFS Army VIP Membership Here or try out the DFS Amry for FREE for one month by checking out our free offers here.

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Before the Pick Research

Before I get into breaking down the kickers I really wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who read and support the DFS Army. I have always loved my time here and really do feel like this is a family. As our way of saying thank you to all of the members and readers ffootballgeek put together a freeroll that can only be found through one of our links. While it will be played on Fantasydraft and has no kickers I wanted to be sure you saw and had your chance to join.

I love to play on Fanduel and one of those reasons is that I believe that the Kicker gives us an advantage. So many people roster whatever cheap kicker they can place. About as much thought goes into who they play kicker as they do who’s the boss. The best thing is, the Kicker might be one of the easiest spots to select. If you want to know what I look for in selecting a kicker I have you covered in my How to Pick a Kicker to find out.

For a quick refresher remember these tips

Teams expected to score over 24 points and favored to win preferably at home.
Teams who play indoors or where the weather is not an issue.
Kickers who can actually kick the ball from distance with high accuracy.
forget about the price, and focus on the skill.

The main reason we want to focus on everything but ignore the price is that no other position on your roster will have more chance to return points based on the difference in salary. Top priced kickers are 5100, the bottom price is 4500. Many top options will fall into the 4700 range, that means for 200 more you could easily grab a 15 point kicker whereas the 4500 guys may only be good for 8.

For full table click here

Cash Kickers

Cash kickers will be kickers who can score us a solid 8-10 points. If they get more that is great, but we really need that safety floor just like any other roster spot. This could be 1 FG and 3 XP or it could be all FGs. To find these we will strictly follow the rules laid out above.

Week One Focus

Stephen Hauschka
Chris Boswell
Matt Bryant

These 3 options are the ones that stick out the most just following the rules. Boswell and Bryant are away, but they are massive favorites with a high implied total. So let’s break these 3 down.

Hauschka – BUF

Is accurate as he had an 89% made field goal percent (MFG%) last season. He is on a new team, but the leg should still be similar. Buffalo is at home this week, giving us a home team favored to win by 9 with a 25 point implied total. The boxes are all checked, but he is still one of my least favorite plays. I do not like the Bills as much as Vegas or many other sites. They are almost in as much of a rebuild as NYJ are, but following the numbers, Hauschka checks the boxes.

Boswell – PIT

Has an MFG% of 84% which is made more impressive by how hard it is to kick in his home stadium. The one downside to Boswell is his team will often forgo his ability to kick the ball and go for 2 on most touchdowns. This lowers his floor each week as we cannot count on him for the simple points. He is still in a game against Browns where I think he does offer you a cash safe option.

Bryant – ATL

Often the man of the week last season with a 91% MFG% for the 2016 season. He has a match up here that I love and should be put into use. The most pricey of all the Cash kickers, he also should offer us the best floor. Bryant is used way more from less than 40 yards than he is from 40+, but those numbers could easily change. Also for the floor, we want someone who is going to get a lot of kicks, and that is something he does get.

Hybrid Plays

If you are not sure why a hybrid play is I suggest checking out a Geek Favorite to understand what I am talking about. A quick breakdown, however, is these are players who carry a little more risk for more upside. This is an area where we can kind of skip some of the rules or interpret them our own way.

Dan Bailey
Greg Zuerlein
Mason Crosby
Ryan Succop

Bailey – DAL

Mr. Accuracy even if last years numbers do not show this as well with an MFG% of 84% last season. His match up at home against the NYG as Geek has said shows some chance of low scoring, however, this does not mean Bailey cannot perform, he just comes with a little more risk than I would want for Cash.

Zuerlein – LAR

Is a kicker who has put up some massive scores in seasons past but has always been so hit or miss you cannot trust him outside of anything GPP. The boost here, however, comes from a great match up week one at home. The LA Rams will face a broken down Indy team for the first week. While the Rams are missing some important pieces, Indy is missing the heart and soul (QB Luck and Center Kelly). This is going to give the Rams more chances to move the ball. The Vegas line has already switched from Indy winning to the Rams, making Zuerlein an even better play even with the lower implied total.

Crosby – GB

A kicker not likely to miss an FG if given the chance from 39 yards and fewer, with an MFG% at 86 last season, but he is also not a player who will kick from distance. With one kick from 50+ yards that counted all of last season, you are looking for volume here. You will not see quick point jumps, but he is offered a floor with XPs and those 30 yarders. His risk is the dependence on volume.

Succop – TEN

One kicker I really like, as all of the Vegas odds give us the go ahead here. The only real risk is will TEN fall behind? Oakland has a great offense (or did last year) so it is hard to say if Ten will actually be able to keep up. All of the experts are on TEN for a great year, I am just not yet convinced. As a Missourian, I believe in the “Show Me” approach. If Ten is the team the experts say they are, by all means, fire up Succop until the cows come home (I own no cows, so I can always fire him up).

GPP Kickers

This group of kickers may score you 0 points but they offer the upside of 20 points if things go your way. These are the guys you may only play if you are going MME and looking to be different. They are also the kickers who may win you that 30,000 person contest. Of course, they are also the same ones who could lose it for you. RISK BE WARNED!

Justin Tucker
Chandler Catanzaro
Nick Novak

These kickers are risky. Each offers something that I see where we could end up with a great score. For more on that join me in Slack and let’s talk about them together.