Garo Yepremian. Bill Gramatica. Mike Vanderjagt. Let's face it ... kickers have been the butt of more than a few jokes during the course of NFL history.
Kickers are also the Rodney Dangerfields of fantasy football, as owners are advised to avoid the position until the last round in most drafts. Why waste a more prominent pick on a position that can be so unpredictable and interchangeable? Well, the point of this column isn't to tell you to drastically alter your draft philosophies. What this column will show you is that kickers shouldn't be ignored, as the position has become more productive and valuable in the last five years.
Let's take a look at how our "lovable losers" are making a bigger impact both on the gridiron and for your fantasy teams.
First, let's go back to the 2009 season. David Akers was the highest-scoring fantasy kicker in the NFL with 141.00 points. Mason Crosby ranked second followed by Stephen Gostkowski, Rob Bironas and Lawrence Tynes. The five of them averaged 131.8 fantasy points, while the top 10 kickers averaged 125.2. If you're like me, you're not getting too excited about those numbers. However, the decline in production from the top five kickers and kickers 11-15 was significant (31.80 points). That shows that getting an "elite" player at the position was more important.
Now we'll move to the 2010 campaign, where an interesting trend starts. As the NFL has transitioned into a passing league, kickers have started to score more points. Sebastian Janikowski was the top dog with 150.00 points, followed by David Akers, Josh Brown, Nick Folk and Matt Bryant. Those five players combined to average 137.4 fantasy points, an increase of 5.6 points compared to 2009. That's not mind blowing, but it's notable. The biggest risers came from kickers 16-20, who averaged 21.23 more fantasy points than the previous season.
The production level of kickers continued to rise in 2011. Akers went off for a ridiculous 184.56 fantasy points to lead the position, while Gostkowski, Crosby, Janikowski and Dan Bailey rounded out the top five with an average of 151.1 points. The top 10 kickers averaged 141.35 fantasy points, which was almost 10 more than the top five recorded in 2009. So, not only is the position gaining steam in the stat sheets, it's also becoming deeper in terms of potential options.
Fantasy point totals again rose across the board during the 2012 campaign, with then-rookie Blair Walsh leading the position with 161.00 fantasy points. Gostkowski, Bryant, Tynes and Shayne Graham filled in the rest of the top five, averaging 152.4 points. Walsh, who nailed 10 field goals of 50-plus yards, posted more points that season than current fantasy stars like LeSean McCoy, DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews. He also outscored every single tight end, including Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski.
No, that isn't a misprint.
"Kickers are starting at a younger age, so they're more prepared by the time they get to the NFL," Walsh said when asked about the increased production at his position. "Long snapper and holders are also so consistent that the field-goal operation is almost perfect every single time."
The 2013 campaign was no different in terms of production. Gostkowski scored a league-leading 168.00 fantasy points, followed by Matt Prater, Justin Tucker, Crosby and Steven Hauschka. The top four scored over 152 points, and the top 10 overall averaged 150.70. Just one kicker (Akers) had accomplished that feat from 2009-2011. Want another stat that will open your eyes when it comes to the position? Based on points, Gostkowski would have ranked as a No. 2 running back, a No. 2 wide receiver and a top-three, No. 1 tight end.
Alright, are all of you kicker haters out there ready to have your minds blown even further? Well, remember all of the praise we had for Julius Thomas during his breakout 2013 campaign? How about all the love we showered on Giovani Bernard, Pierre Garcon, Keenan Allen and Julian Edelman for their on-field and fantasy accomplishments?
Gostkowski, Prater, Tucker and Crosby outscored all of them.
Now I'm not telling you that you should be drafting kickers before offensive skill positions, and I'll say so when anyone asks. I'm still waiting until one of the last few rounds to grab one, and that makes sense when you consider that the position is much deeper than it was five years ago. However, you can't overlook kickers anymore. You simply can't fall in love with "names" and stick with them when "lesser knowns" are lighting up scoreboards but remain on the waiver wire.
Kickers are stronger, more accurate and more valuable in fantasy football than ever before.
Still don't believe me? Ask anyone who benefited from the nearly 10 fantasy points Gostkowski scored for them per game in 2013. Ask an owner who won in Week 15, the semifinals of the fantasy postseason, because of 22-point performances from Bailey and Tucker. That was more than Peyton Manning, Cam Newton, Matt Forte, McCoy and all but two wide receivers scored that week.
Points are points, no matter the position that scores them.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Have a burning question on anything fantasy related? Tweet it to **@Michael_Fabiano** or send a question via **Facebook**!