Who are they? They are free agents!
First let me start out by saying kickers our probably one of the most under-valued positions in fantasy football today. There are a few fantasy team owners that tend to over-value their existence, but I think for those fantasy football team owners it’s less about competition and more about who they like, but maybe, just maybe, it’s a lack of truly understanding the potential a kicker can add to your team on a
weekly basis. I see many people, in the leagues I play in, starting the same kicker week after week, while I, and a few other’s that are aware of this strategy, dominate this position weekly. This article will not fill your brain with individual kicker stats and such as there is no need. We will keep this simple.
How do I do it? It is simple and if you are caught not following these steps this year after reading this article, well then, you belong with the rest of the teams not in the playoffs season, after season, after season. If you do follow this advice, then your success rate will increase. There are many things in fantasy sports that are a matter of opinion and there are some things that are a matter of fact, this is matter of fact. If you have ever played fantasy baseball, then surely you have seen those team owners constantly dropping and adding pitchers day after day and starting them. This strategy gives their team an advantage over the team that is just using the pitchers on their roster because in baseball you try to win categories and the more categories you win, the more you win. So the more pitchers you start that have potential, then the more likely it is that you will win those pitching categories. The kicker strategy is no different. The kicker is that one spot within your roster that you can truly dispose of each week for another one on the free agency to try to beat the kicker of the team you are playing. Make since? Keep reading, it will.
1 – Look through the available kickers on the free agency and let the research begin.
2 - Selecting a successful kicker is as easy as eating pie. All you have to do is study the defensive match-ups each week. Go to any site that provides detailed stats for defenses, I like NFL.com, and find out how many XPM’s (extra point made) and FGM’s (field goal made) the opposing defense gives up each week to kickers. The higher the numbers are that the defenses are giving up, the higher success potential for that kicker. Depending on the league scoring format, typically FGM’s are better because you get 3 points for each of those whereas you might only get 1 point for XPM’s.
3 – Now, you may have drafted a kicker, no sooner than the last to next to last round of your draft, I hope. If you did, I am sure you made it a good selection and that’s ok, but don’t go into your weekly match-up against your ole pal without first making sure the kicker you stash on your roster for the entire season has the better match-up that week than those 10 or more kickers on the free agency. Why would you not want more points if they are that easy to come by?
4 – Last, but not least, in making your decision, know what the weather is going to be like if the kicker you are thinking of starting is playing outdoors. Weather.com can provide you this information based on that particular match-up. Cool huh!
Note: You don’t think this is legit, test it out each week and track it and see for yourself. This is information that I am sure the most aggressive fantasy football team owners are aware of, but if you want to compete year after year, get on board as we all need the extra advantage.
