Time to ban Kickers?
“Dude I totally snagged Rodrigo Blankenship in my draft, he’s going to push my team to a championship” said no one ever. In all seriousness, kickers are a vital part of the game of Football. Several of our favorite teams have caused heart aches for us and pure joy from game winning kicks. While last second kicks bring the anxiety and rush we may all thrive, it brings little to the table from a Fantasy Football standpoint.
Let’s really break down Kickers from a fantasy scoring standpoint. Their scoring system is different from almost every other position other than defense. QBs, RBs WRs and TEs all are based off of yards, catches and touchdowns. Even defensive teams scoring comes from yards allowed, turnovers and touchdowns. Kickers don’t bring that element to fantasy. To me it makes it feel like they are the fat kid in dodgeball. They stand out not in a good way.
The trend of banning kickers has gained popularity the last few years. Look at most daily fantasy platforms such as DraftKings or Fanduel. You may find some options to add a kicker but the overwhelming majority of contests you will not see the position.
Have you ever lost a week in football because Patrick Mahomes or some elite QB went ham? Now have you ever lost when your opponent threw 5 picks, the running back fumbled 3 times and their top wide out had hands of stone but that “stud” kicker went 7 for 7 with 4+ 50 yard FGs? That’s not the way anyone should go out, especially against a position which is chosen with the last pick of drafts.
Lets face it, we do not tune in each Sunday to see kickers. The excitement factor comes from long yardage gains, flashy touchdowns and spectacular grabs. I never turned on NFL Redzone to see Younghoe Koo kick a 33 yard FG. The position is a crapshoot and there is little to know skill in the art of selecting the position in your draft. Kickers are a huge part of NFL but they have no place in Fantasy Football.
Feel free to comment or debate with us!