It’s never too early to look at rankings ahead of the 2022 fantasy football season. Now is the time to see where the experts have players ranked versus the early average draft position (ADP).
Check out our top kicker rankings along with player notes as you prepare for your fantasy football draft.
Kicker Fantasy Football Rankings & Player Notes
Tier 1
1) Justin Tucker (BAL)
Justin Tucker rebounded after a “bad” season in 2020 when averaged 9.1 fantasy points per game as the K7. He finished 2021 as the K2 with the No. 1 FG% (95%). Arguably already the best kicker in the history of the NFL, Tucker is by far the safest bet to return top-3 fantasy kicker status, making him worthy of the No. 1 ranking. Since 2016, he’s finished outside the top-4 once (2020).
2) Tyler Bass (BUF)
The hope for Tyler Bass is that the Bills’ offense isn’t as effective in the red zone as they were a season ago. The Josh-Allen-led offense ranked No.1 in RZ efficiency in 2021, which can be difficult to replicate year over year. That would set up Bass — No. 3-ranked K in 2020 — to recapture his elite fantasy form.
3) Matt Gay (LAR)
You can never go wrong drafting a dome kicker attached to a high-powered offense. That’s the move behind Matt Gay, who hit a career-high 94% of his FGs in 2021 — second only to Justin Tucker.
4) Daniel Carlson (LV)
The highest-ranked kicker based on projections is Las Vegas Raiders kicker, Daniel Carlson. He finished last as the K4, despite leading the NFL in attempts. Carlson owns easy K1 overall upside playing in a high-powered offense that benefits from indoor conditions. Not to mention, his new head coach Josh McDaniels’ play-calling a season ago fueled a renaissance K1 performance for long-time veteran Nick Folk in New England. And that came with the Patriots’ offense converting TDs at the 7th-highest rate in the NFL last season.
Tier 2
5) Evan McPherson (CIN)
As a rookie, Evan McPherson tied Justin Tucker as the K2 averaging 9.6 fantasy points per game. He finished as PFF’s second-highest graded PK and led the NFL in 50-plus yards converted attempts (9-11). His reliance on long FGs could be a sign that regression is on the horizon as the kickers that have done supremely well in that metric — Jason Sanders, Matt Prater, Joey Slye — have fallen from top-5 kickers to back-end starters the following year.
6) Ryan Succop (TB)
Ryan Succop is a curious case at the kicker position because he should be a top option based on the offensive environment he plays in. However, not much has changed about his situation from a year ago when he finished as the QB15 averaging fewer than 8 fantasy points per game. It’s possible Succop’s just not that good after finishing with the 25th-ranked FG% in 2021 (83.3%). He also doesn’t have the leg strength to nail longer field goals with just 2 50-plus yard kicks converted over the last 3 seasons.
7) Matt Prater (ARI)
Despite Matt Prater’s inconsistent first year with the Cardinals, he still managed to finish as fantasy’s eighth-ranked kicker. His 37 field goal attempts were career-high and ranked 5th in the NFL. Bodes well for him to be a draft-eligible kicker that can provide spike weeks in the Cardinals’ dome. Not to mention, we could see the Arizona RZ offense struggle to start the year with DeAndre Hopkins sidelined.
8) Harrison Butker (KC)
Butker has fallen out of the elite kicking category over the last two seasons, finishing outside the top-10 Ks after ranking top-7 in his three seasons. It’s through no fault of his own as Butker has maintained solid efficiency, but he’s just been assigned fewer opportunities in the Chiefs’ high-powered offense. However, the loss of Tyreek Hill could present a return to form for Butker if the team struggles to convert TDs in the red zone.
Tier 3
11) Jason Sanders (MIA)
Jason Sanders’ massive drop-off from K1 to K20 is a reminder that you don’t want to be caught chasing the No. 1 overall scorer from last season when it stands out like an outlier. Sanders’ extremely high conversion rate on FGs of 50-plus yards in 2020 was a prime sign that regression would follow.
10) Younghoe Koo (ATL)
Younghoe Koo’s top-12 ADP is based on his merits during an outstanding 2020 campaign, not necessarily based on his 2022 projection. Because based on the outlook of the Falcons offense — not great, 24th in RZ efficiency last season — we should be ranking/drafting him more like he was last season. He was the K18.
Admittedly, though, I’d expect Koo to regress positively closer to his 2020 form after finishing the season as PFF’s second-highest graded kicker with the 5th best FG% (93%). Doesn’t hurt either that he plays predominately in a dome.
11) Rodrigo Blankenship (IND)
2020’s K6 was lost in 2021 due to an injury, but the combined efforts of Rodrigo Blankenship and Michael Bagley would have produced the K9 last season. Considering the Colts have ranked top-10 in FG attempts the past two seasons, Blankenship is an extremely safe option to return top-10 value.
12) Jake Elliott (PHI)
Elliott had an excellent season for the Eagles having made 30 of his 33 field goal attempts and all 44 of his extra-point tries. The offense is expected to be above-average by many, which should lead to consistent scoring opportunities.
FantasyPros Staff Consensus 2022 Redraft Fantasy Football Rankings
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