Strategy Scoop

Today we will discuss one of my favorite moves in fantasy football. We all likely wish that our bench was one spot deeper. That we could hold one more guy for the week to see what the trends in news and injuries will hold. I'm going to help you solve that problem today.

Photo from Zimbio.com

I call it the kicker dump off. Almost every week I drop my kicker as part of my waiver wire moves. This allows me to pick up another position player and hold him on my roster for the week. When I can't decide who I would want to drop from my roster on Tuesday night, I just cut the most likely position to not have a huge difference in scoring next week, no matter who I play. This allows me to hold a player on my roster, and on Sunday morning, I simply make my decision on who to let go. Often there will be some news throughout the week that will help you to this choice. Even if you have to drop a player you don't want to at the end of the week, he can't be picked up by anyone in your league, giving you a chance to get him back depending on your spot on the waiver order.

The evidence that this doesn't matter too much can be gleaned from looking at the kicker points scored in ESPN standard scoring leagues so far this season. Through the first 5 weeks of the season the difference between the top kicker, Dan Bailey (DAL) and the 12th highest scoring kicker, Justin Tucker (BAL) is a total of 10 points. That works out to only 2 points per week. The next 3 kickers down in the rankings have just 1 to 3 point differences. This means that the 15th ranked kicker will have only a 3 point per week difference over the top kicker. On top of that, Bailey has two single digit weeks, and a week with 19 points. This difference is negligible in the grand scheme of an entire season.

If you spent an early draft pick on a kicker, and I never suggest this strategy, you may be hesitant to employ this strategy. But the numbers don't lie. It isn't that big a difference, and kickers are volatile point scorers anyways. More position flexibility could end up with you holding on to a key piece of your team while another player on your team finds himself injured, suspended, or with some other possible negative outcome that you could have avoided.

Similarly if you are a streamer of defenses, this strategy can be effective as well. I have found at times that I will drop both my kicker and my defense during a given week to carry two position players above my normal maximum to give me the most options I can have with skill position players. Defense has the same variance to it as the kicker position. In one of my drafts this season I took the Seahawks defense early, and am considering dropping them due to lack of scoring. Turnovers are fleeting. It was always going to be difficult to follow up such an amazingly productive season as last year.

Hopefully you find this strategy advice helpful. Don't fear the small point difference. If it comes down to your kicker to win your games, it was always a toss up.

Forgot About Pra(ter)

It may seem odd to find a post about a kicker for fantasy football purposes, but when the kicker is likely not owned in your league, and he is on a good team, has a good home field, is highly accurate, and is past his bye, he is a good target to add.

Matt Prater (DEN) was suspended by the NFL for the first 4 games (5 weeks) of the 2014 season. Assuming that the Broncos retain him after his suspension, Prater is a valuable commodity to your fantasy team. Playing for a team that scored 75 touchdowns and attempted 26 field goals last year means that he is likely to be quite a high scoring player for your team.

His kicking situation is fantastic, playing 6 of his remaining games this year in the thin air of Denver. Prater was a very accurate kicker last season making all 75 of his extra points and 25/26 field goal attempts. He is usually one of the first kickers to come off the board in drafts and is just sitting there for the taking.This season he will be available to cunning fantasy players who pounce on the opportunity to scoop him up.

My suggestion is to wait til late in week 5, Sunday morning is the best time, and drop a player that you either don't play, or is not performing if you don't have a bench spot available. You will have a ready-to-drop player in the kicker you play in week 5 to drop and add a player during waivers in week 6.