Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Kyle Smith       

- Edited by Marc Caviglia     

There were some solid kicking performances during the Wild Card round of the playoffs, and those performances should transition nicely to the Divisional Round. However, there are still some unknowns for fantasy football owners, such as a new kicker for Seattle and potentially one for San Francisco. Let’s see how things will shake out.

::RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF JANUARY 9, 2013::

 
1. Stephen Gostkowski (New England Patriots) vs. Houston

Gostkowski was second in fantasy points during the regular season, trailing only rookie Blair Walsh. He struggled a bit during the middle of the year, but ended the season making each kick over his last four games. Gostkowski is easily the safest bet among fantasy kickers this week.
Point Projection: 12 points

2. Matt Bryant (Atlanta Falcons) vs. Seattle

Only two kickers had more field goals than Bryant during the regular season, and that helped him place third on the fantasy leaderboard for the year. He made every kick over his last five games and missed just one after Week 9. Bryant has a tough match-up, but we trust him playing at home in the comforts of the Georgia Dome.
Point Projection: 11 points

3. Justin Tucker (Baltimore Ravens) @ Denver

Tucker had just a single field goal attempt during the Ravens’ win over the Colts last week, and he made the 23-yarder. The rookie had an outstanding season, hitting nearly 91 percent of his three-point tries and ranking sixth in fantasy scoring at his position. Tucker made 14 of his 17 field goals from 40 or more yards this year and he is more than capable of knocking home some kicks from long distance in the thin Denver air.
Point Projection: 10 points

4. Shayne Graham (Houston Texans) @ New England

Graham had the best weekend of any kicker during the Wild Card round, hitting four field goals, though only one was from beyond 30 yards. Nonetheless, it was an extension of what he did during the regular season, when he was a top-10 fantasy scorer among kickers. Graham may not get be in line for a huge day, but we like him to be solid enough for fantasy owners to start.
Point Projection: 10 points

5. Matt Prater (Denver Broncos) vs. Baltimore

Considering Prater was kicking behind a Peyton Manning-led offense, and that he kicks in the league’s most advantageous outdoor stadium for field goals, we expected more from him this year. Prater was solid, ranking ninth in fantasy points, but he was just tied for 16th in field goals made and hit only eight of his 13 three-pointers from at least 40 yards. We think he’ll have a decent game this week, but would prefer other options.
Point Projection: 8 points

6. David Akers / Billy Cundiff (San Francisco 49ers) vs. Green Bay

Frankly, we aren’t sure if Akers will even be kicking for the Niners this week, because he was kicking for his roster spot during recent practices after a terrible regular season. As of this writing, it wasn’t known if Akers or possibly Billy Cundiff would get the nod for San Francisco, but we have to believe the team will stick with Akers for now. Either way, we don’t trust whomever the team decides to put out there.
Point Projection: 6 points

7. Ryan Longwell (Seattle Seahawks) @ Atlanta

Steven Hauschka had been a valuable fantasy asset down the stretch, and hit a trio of field goals last week during the Seahawks’ win over the Redskins. But he injured his knee in the game, and the team put him on IR and signed Longwell to take his place. Longwell did not kick this year, but had spent the past several years with the Vikings, so he should be comfortable booting under a dome. Still, it’s hard for us to recommend someone who has yet to kick a single this this season.
Point Projection: 6 points

8. Mason Crosby (Green Bay Packers) @ San Francisco

Crosby has fallen so far this year, we’d rather have an aging kicker who has not attempted a field goal since 2011 than him. True, he made his one field goal attempt last week, but it was from 20 yards, and he doesn’t deserve kudos for that. Crosby’s atrocious regular season is still fresh in our minds, and we wouldn’t touch him this week.
Point Projection: 6 points

DIVISIONAL ROUND RANKINGS:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  |  DEF  (click to view)