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The 2014 K (kickers) Thread (1 Viewer)

Rotoworld:

Impending free agent K Adam Vinatieri plans to kick "two or three more years."

Vinatieri converted 35-of-40 field goals and all 34 extra points this past season, drilling 19-of-23 kicks from 40-plus yards out. Vinatieri turned 41 last month.


Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter
 
Rotoworld:

Free agent K Steven Hauschka is expected to re-sign with the Seahawks.

Hauschka has quietly established himself as one of the league's most reliable kickers. Over the last two seasons, he's gone 57-of-62 field goals (91.9 percent), including a 16-of-17 mark between 40-49 yards. Hauschka will get a raise on the one-year, $715,000 deal he signed last year.


Source: Seattle Times
 
Rotoworld:

Free agent K Phil Dawson is not a candidate for the 49ers' franchise tag.

Because Dawson was tagged by the Browns in 2011 and 2012, he'd be entitled to the quarterback franchise number of about $16 million if he's tagged a third time. That's not going to happen. Dawson has expressed a strong desire to re-sign with the 49ers. He made 39-of-43 field goals last season.


Source: Profootballtalk on NBC Sports
 
"Graham, a 13-year veteran who signed with the Saints on Dec. 18 after kicker Garrett Hartley was released, was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 11. Graham, 36, signed a new one-year contract for the 2014 season with a base salary of $955,000, according to the NFL Players Association website. He was 2-for-2 in the final two games of the regular season and connected on all four of his field-goal attempts in the Saints’ 26-24 wild-card playoff win against the Philadelphia Eagles. Graham hit from 36, 46, 35 and 32 yards out against the Eagles — with the last one coming on the final play of the game for the win. A week later, he missed from 45 and 47 yards in tough conditions in a 23-15 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round. Graham has converted 85.5 percent of his field-goal attempts during his career, making 247 of 289 tries in 157 games."
I'm still a little bit aggravated over those 2 missed FGs. I can't let go of it I'll admit but those 2 FGs (& Ingram's fumble) separated the Seahawks from the Saints that day. I know Graham has a very good track record, but when he played for other teams I always thought of him as someone who would never be a top flight all-pro guy. And Houston obviously moved on from him despite his excellent year in 2012.

The Saints would be so much better with a great kicker, I wish they could find another Morten Andersen, and I'm not sure they're really finished on that score. They have Derek Dimke at the ready too:

http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/8107/derek-dimke

At Illinois, he made 39-of-46 field goal attempts in three seasons.
Does anyone know anything about his college career, how good his leg is and what the chances are for a diamond in the rough to be found here?

Alternatively I wonder if they expend a draft pick on a K like they did on Tommy Morstead in 2009.... which was totally worth the investment (they traded up to get him in the 5th IIRC).

 
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SaintsInDome2006 said:
"Graham, a 13-year veteran who signed with the Saints on Dec. 18 after kicker Garrett Hartley was released, was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 11. Graham, 36, signed a new one-year contract for the 2014 season with a base salary of $955,000, according to the NFL Players Association website. He was 2-for-2 in the final two games of the regular season and connected on all four of his field-goal attempts in the Saints’ 26-24 wild-card playoff win against the Philadelphia Eagles. Graham hit from 36, 46, 35 and 32 yards out against the Eagles — with the last one coming on the final play of the game for the win. A week later, he missed from 45 and 47 yards in tough conditions in a 23-15 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round. Graham has converted 85.5 percent of his field-goal attempts during his career, making 247 of 289 tries in 157 games."
I'm still a little bit aggravated over those 2 missed FGs. I can't let go of it I'll admit but those 2 FGs (& Ingram's fumble) separated the Seahawks from the Saints that day. I know Graham has a very good track record, but when he played for other teams I always thought of him as someone who would never be a top flight all-pro guy. And Houston obviously moved on from him despite his excellent year in 2012.

The Saints would be so much better with a great kicker, I wish they could find another Morten Andersen, and I'm not sure they're really finished on that score. They have Derek Dimke at the ready too:

http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/8107/derek-dimke

At Illinois, he made 39-of-46 field goal attempts in three seasons.
Does anyone know anything about his college career, how good his leg is and what the chances are for a diamond in the rough to be found here?

Alternatively I wonder if they expend a draft pick on a K like they did on Tommy Morstead in 2009.... which was totally worth the investment (they traded up to get him in the 5th IIRC).
Dimke's been getting closer to landing an NFL starting job. He was in contention for the Bucs job at one point last summer.

Here's his Draft Profile from the other year

 
Rotoworld:

The Indy Star considers free agent K Adam Vinatieri a candidate for the franchise tag.
The standard figure for placekickers on the franchise tag is $3.4 million. But under the CBA, Vinatieri would cost roughly $4 million to tag because he was already making $3.4 million last season. It's a steep price, but the Colts could pay it to avoid giving a 41-year-old Vinatieri a long-term deal. Last year, Sebastian Janikowski got four years and $19 million, Robbie Gould got four years and $15 million, and Rob Bironas got two years worth $6.675 million.

Source: Indianapolis Star
 
Rotoworld:

Panthers re-signed K Graham Gano to a four-year, $12.4 million contract.
Gano, 27 in April, is coming off his best season as a pro; he made 24-of-27 field goals and all 42 extra points. He has a booming leg and made all six of his field goals from 50-plus yards out in 2013. Gano also produced 63 touchbacks on kickoffs, which was third-most in the league. He was fantasy's No. 15 kicker.
 
For the small minority that are in fantasy leagues that include P and LS positions:

NFL Draft 2014 - Punter Rankings
NFL Draft 2014 - Long Snapper Rankings
I desperately wish I could find some fantasy leagues that utilized the P position in lieu of DST.

One, punter scoring has vastly less week-to-week randomness than DST scoring; two, there's just enough of a difference between the top-tier punters and the rest to make a draft-and-hold strategy worthwhile, like every other FF skill position, but unlike DST where just streaming off the WW works in about 90% of scoring formats.

/lowers his lance, climbs off his horse

 
Posted by Chris Brown on February 28, 2014 – 10:36 am

Bills kicker Dan Carpenter is a player that GM Doug Whaley said they’d like to re-sign this offseason after he set career highs in field goals made (33) and field goal percentage (91.7%). With fellow kicker Graham Gano reportedly signing in Carolina, the parameters for a deal for Carpenter might be a bit clearer.

According to CBSSports.com’s Jason LaCanfora, Gano has agreed to a new four-year deal.

K Graham Gano’s deal with Carolina is for 4yrs, $12.4M, according to an NFL source, with a max of $13M

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) February 28, 2014

Carpenter’s long distance numbers are pretty comparable to Gano’s. He was 14-16 from 40-yards plus last season including 4-6 from 50 yards or more. Gano was 11-13 from 40 yards plus, but 6-6 from 50 yards or more. Gano is also one of the most accomplished kickoff specialists as he was third in the league in touchbacks last season with 63. Carpenter had 34.

 
Rotoworld:

Jets assigned the franchise tag to K Nick Folk.
The Jets cleared a ton of salary cap room under first-year GM John Idzik in 2013, impressively and quickly cleansing themselves of the Mike Tannenbaum era. Thus, they're able to commit roughly $3.4 million in cap space to Folk, who banged home 33-of-36 field goal tries last season. The sides will likely now work on a long-term agreement. Folk turned 29 in November.
 
For the small minority that are in fantasy leagues that include P and LS positions:

NFL Draft 2014 - Punter Rankings
NFL Draft 2014 - Long Snapper Rankings
I desperately wish I could find some fantasy leagues that utilized the P position in lieu of DST.

One, punter scoring has vastly less week-to-week randomness than DST scoring; two, there's just enough of a difference between the top-tier punters and the rest to make a draft-and-hold strategy worthwhile, like every other FF skill position, but unlike DST where just streaming off the WW works in about 90% of scoring formats.

/lowers his lance, climbs off his horse
They are out there but most are IDP dynasty leagues.

May have an opening in one. PM if interested....

 
Hi Mike Herman,

I appreciate your expertise on Ks. Some of my leaguemates wish to ditch the K position, but I don't want to. Have you ever written any "In defense of Ks/Why kickers are awesome in fantasy football" type articles that can help me persuade keeping them in our league? I fear I would not be nearly convincing as you would be regarding this.

Thanks again!

 
Hi Mike Herman,

I appreciate your expertise on Ks. Some of my leaguemates wish to ditch the K position, but I don't want to. Have you ever written any "In defense of Ks/Why kickers are awesome in fantasy football" type articles that can help me persuade keeping them in our league? I fear I would not be nearly convincing as you would be regarding this.

Thanks again!
Sorry, but I have not written anything along those lines.

Plus, it is possible that I may be one of the last persons you'd want to reference, since it could reasonably be asserted that I may be biased in favor of kickers :)

 
Hi Mike Herman,

I appreciate your expertise on Ks. Some of my leaguemates wish to ditch the K position, but I don't want to. Have you ever written any "In defense of Ks/Why kickers are awesome in fantasy football" type articles that can help me persuade keeping them in our league? I fear I would not be nearly convincing as you would be regarding this.

Thanks again!
Sorry, but I have not written anything along those lines.

Plus, it is possible that I may be one of the last persons you'd want to reference, since it could reasonably be asserted that I may be biased in favor of kickers :)
Yeah, I wasn't looking for an objective source so I thought you'd be a good one. Thanks anyway!

 
Rotoworld:

The Bills are considering keeping two kickers for the 2014 season.
The Bills recently signed Dan Carpenter to a four-year, $9.9 million extension, but used the No. 177 pick of last year's draft on Dustin Hopkins, who missed his entire rookie year with a groin injury. The idea would be to have Carpenter handle field goals and Hopkins man kickoffs. When it comes time to cut the roster down to 53 players, we highly doubt the Bills will have the stones to keep two kickers. It wouldn't be smart.

Related: Dan Carpenter

Source: Buffalo News
 
The big question. In my one league, PK has pretty good value because we can start 2. They are not going to win you games but they wont lose you games either and make a nice starter since we go with 11 O starters in 16 team league and the PK is usually the 6th and 8th best guys to have.

We also do part of our draft before the NFL draft

So is any of these rookie PK's worthy of being taken that are assured of getting a job. It looks like Boswell seems to be because Santos is small and Fera leg is not that strong. Anyone else and is Boswell worth the risk. Worked for guys like Zuerlein and Walsh to be drafted but not so for a guy like Dustin Hopkins last year

 
The big question. In my one league, PK has pretty good value because we can start 2. They are not going to win you games but they wont lose you games either and make a nice starter since we go with 11 O starters in 16 team league and the PK is usually the 6th and 8th best guys to have.

We also do part of our draft before the NFL draft

So is any of these rookie PK's worthy of being taken that are assured of getting a job. It looks like Boswell seems to be because Santos is small and Fera leg is not that strong. Anyone else and is Boswell worth the risk. Worked for guys like Zuerlein and Walsh to be drafted but not so for a guy like Dustin Hopkins last year
Boswell probably has the best odds, as he is typically ranked the highest, but of course nothing is "assured". Anyone that gets drafted is very likely to get the job. Hopkns would have last year had he not gotten injured. But who will get drafted (if any) depends on the few teams with a need and who they like. A good example was the Lions last year... they needed a punter and really liked Sam Martin, even though the "experts" had a few others ranked higher.

 
The big question. In my one league, PK has pretty good value because we can start 2. They are not going to win you games but they wont lose you games either and make a nice starter since we go with 11 O starters in 16 team league and the PK is usually the 6th and 8th best guys to have.

We also do part of our draft before the NFL draft

So is any of these rookie PK's worthy of being taken that are assured of getting a job. It looks like Boswell seems to be because Santos is small and Fera leg is not that strong. Anyone else and is Boswell worth the risk. Worked for guys like Zuerlein and Walsh to be drafted but not so for a guy like Dustin Hopkins last year
Boswell probably has the best odds, as he is typically ranked the highest, but of course nothing is "assured". Anyone that gets drafted is very likely to get the job. Hopkns would have last year had he not gotten injured. But who will get drafted (if any) depends on the few teams with a need and who they like. A good example was the Lions last year... they needed a punter and really liked Sam Martin, even though the "experts" had a few others ranked higher.
Nice to see Santos there so high.

I thought in that NO Bowl game that if he made that game tieing kick there in the Dome vs Lafayette the Saints might actually draft him.

But alas he missed. I still can't believe it.

 
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Mike, which kickers do you actually expect to get drafted?
To literally answer your question, I have no set expectations. Of course that's not really an answer.

Looking at it analytically:

  • On average, two kickers are drafted each year
  • The big three (Chris Boswell, Cairo Santos & Anthony Fera) have the best odds of getting drafted
Less analytically: Two that I see as the most likely dark-horse candidates are Nate Freese & Jeff Budzien (especially for teams that have a punter who handles kickoffs)

The other key question is what teams are looking for a kicker:

Detroit has openly indicated they're looking.

Speculating, other teams that might be looking to add a kicker to compete with whomever they already have on their roster:

  • Arizona
  • Cleveland
  • Houston
  • Kansas City
  • New Orleans
  • Philadelphia
  • Tennessee
 
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He is one of my favorite kickers of all time. He was absolutely money. Both in the NFL and fantasy. I made a concerted effort to draft him every year. For some reason he always seemed to be lost in the shuffle with my league mates and I was able to land him late almost every time. Very smart of the ST coordinator to invite him in. Maybe he turns it into a paid gig?

 
Rotoworld:

Lions selected Boston College K Nate Freese with the No. 229 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
Freese (5-foot-11, 192) was perfect as a senior, connecting on all 20 of his field-goal attempts. Across his four-year career, he went 70-of-81 (86.4 percent), finishing as BC's all-time leader in both field goals and points (317). He also handled kickoffs. Freese will compete with John Potter and Giorgio Tavecchio for the right to replace David Akers.
Redskins selected Arkansas K Zach Hocker with the No. 228 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.
Hocker was the Razorbacks' kicker for four seasons, making 61-of-79 field goals in his career. He missed just two extra points. He'll more than likely end up being a camp leg for the Redskins. Kai Forbath would have to faceplant.
 
Insein said:
On the Rookie FAs, what do you think of Carey Spear? Potential to beat out Henery?
Spear has a shot, although I'd pedict that Henery will retain his job. Despite last year's dip in %, Henery is still a very accurate kicker, with the mental focus to rebound. Spear's best hope is probably to prove to be markedly better on kickoffs during camp and preseason, while staying close on placekicking.

Spear's Profile

Henery's profile coming out of college

 
Insein said:
On the Rookie FAs, what do you think of Carey Spear? Potential to beat out Henery?
Spear has a shot, although I'd pedict that Henery will retain his job. Despite last year's dip in %, Henery is still a very accurate kicker, with the mental focus to rebound. Spear's best hope is probably to prove to be markedly better on kickoffs during camp and preseason, while staying close on placekicking.Spear's Profile

Henery's profile coming out of college
The kickoffs are my thing. If he can consistently get touchbacks, I think the accuracy will be relatively close enough. Henery has shown he really doesnt have the distance in his leg.

 

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