I know what you probably thought when you first saw this title- “Wow fantasy football hacks. That would help so much.” And I also know what else you thought- “Oh, this guy’s an idiot. He thinks kickers matter.” And now you’re probably thinking something along the lines of “Woah, how did he just read my mind like that?”. All are understandable thoughts, but that doesn’t change anything. The kicker method of fantasy football is tried and true. I’ve used it and have never failed to get to the fantasy championship. In fact, the last time I tried it I won the championship. Now I want to share my knowledge with you.
The first thing you need to know is that the kicker is by far the most undervalued player on a fantasy football team. Obviously running backs and receivers are solid. No one is arguing that. But how many times over his career has Julio Jones been picked in the first round only to have 5+ weeks scoring in the single digits? I don’t know, but I’d say a lot. Do you know how many times Justin Tucker scored under 5 points last year? No idea, but it was probably less than Julio. Again, I didn’t do much research for this article. I’m just talking from the heart about a strategy that works. Just think about what the kicker position is. It’s one of only nine positions you’re allowed to play. It’s a slot in your fantasy football lineup that you are trying to fill with as many points as possible. So why would you want a bad one? Why take a kicker who will only average 4 points a game and lose you the close matchups? It doesn’t make any sense.
So here is how I handle a fantasy football draft. Obviously you’re gonna wanna go ahead and get your backs and receivers first. Throw in a tight end- I’d highly recommend getting one of the early tight ends because low ranked ones have a history of being terrible fantasy players- and then snag your Qb around the 6th or 7th. That’s where things start to get fun.
Last year in my league, I had the ninth overall pick. I used it to get Stefon Diggs who pretty much brought me to the championship on his own, but couldn’t do it without a bit of help. On draft day, Team Kicker in the Ninth drafted Justin Tucker with its ninth round pick. I don’t see why more people don’t do this. By the ninth round, if you’ve drafted correctly, you’re gonna have your two starting receivers, two starting backs, flex, Te, Qb, and even a bench player. What’s the hold up? Why fill up your bench more when you can fill out your starting lineup with the best player at his position? How many other positions has the best player going in the 13th round? One at best. You’re basically giving away points if you don’t follow the kicker method.
Now just think about what I’m saying here. Tucker was pretty well known in the beginning of last year as the best kicker in the league. The man does not miss the uprights from anywhere on the field. A healthy Justin Tucker will score a bunch of points a week, propelling whatever team he’s on to greatness. And this year I plan on doing the same exact thing. This time, the second kicker didn’t even go until round 12. I plan on getting a solid 10 ppg from my kicker slot this year while my bench exists solely as a precaution with solid players I got in rounds 11-16 like Rondale Moore and Jarvis Landry. If you read this and took the advice to heart, I’ll see you in the fantasy playoffs.