Drafting a kicker in your fantasy football draft is probably one of the last things you look at. It should be a top priority though, if you expect to win close fantasy football games. How many of you have lost a close fantasy football game just because of the kicker? It?s happened to me, and I?ve seen it happen to often. Kickers will screw your fantasy football team over. Either they have a week when they can?t make a field goal, or you play against a team that?s kicker makes four field goals in one game. There will be at least one or two games in a fantasy football season that you will win or lose with your kicker. Those two wins or losses end up being crucial to your fantasy football team?s success. If you don?t draft one of the top five kickers, you could be in for a long season.

An NFL kicker can be so annoying to a football fan. Most of them miss crucial field goals, and when they make one they run around like a player in soccer. They spend ninety percent of the game on the bench, enjoying the football game. Then they warm up in their little kicking net, and come on to the field for a measly kick. It sounds like an easy job. Besides a quarterback though, it is probably the most stressful position in the NFL.

When an offense moves down the field and the drive stalls, the players on the team expect an easy three points. Then the kicker misses the field goal and it lets the team down tremendously. How many times have we seen a kicker struggle all game, and then they?re on the field attempting a game winning field goal? It seems like a weekly NFL treat for that die hard NFL football fans team. Who can forget a few years ago when Washington couldn?t make a field goal with all of those kickers, or Kris Brown in Pittsburgh?

It was getting to the point that NFL teams couldn?t find a solid kicker. That led to the Oakland Raiders drafting Sebastian Janikowski in the first round. If you look at his stats compared to other kickers there around the same. Add to the fact that Janikowski has had off the field problems his whole career, you?d have to say he has been a bust. He is a solid kicker, but he never should have been drafted in the first round. That?d be like a fantasy football owner drafting him in their first round. It?s something you don?t do. Kickers are just kickers, they?re never dependable. Then you have the kickers that celebrate too much. It?s one thing to win a game, but that?s what they?re expected to do. If you can kick a sixty something yard field goal in practice, it should be as easy as Shaq dunking a basketball to kick a forty yard game winning field goal.

Too sum everything up about a kicker, make sure you draft at least one of the top five kickers. Nothing is worse than having to pickup a new kicker two or three times in a year, because you don?t have one that can produce. There are plenty of solid kickers out there, but they have to have the opportunity to kick field goals. Also make sure you don?t draft a kicker too early. I?d wait until someone has chosen a kicker first, then I would start thinking about drafting a kicker with one of my next two picks.