Fantasy football owners love it when their kickers boot three field goals and double-digit points. But the true test of a player's value exists not in one performance but in his level of consistent production.
With that in mind, we've examined which players were the most consistent last season, and whose final numbers were deceptive overall. The parameters of our examination revolves around the final numbers of the position's top players based on a 12-team league that utilized NFL.com's standard scoring system. Since most fantasy leagues are over before the final regular-season week, we've use the numbers from the first 16 weeks. All the kickers listed started at least 10 contests, but time missed due to injuries counts against his final percentage.
The foundation for consistent production was based on the average points of the sixth-rated (or middle kicker of the top 12) on NFL.com last season. That kicker is Stephen Gostkowski, who averaged eight points per game. Kickers that recorded eight or more points in a week were rewarded for their numbers, but seven or fewer points were rated as less than consistent based on Gostkowski's average..
Also remember that a consistent level is relative to the position's overall production, so 40-50 percent can be labeled as consistent in some cases.
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Most consistent
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Atlanta Falcons |  Jason Elam (73 percent) | Elam finished 11th in fantasy points among kickers on NFL.com last season, but he was still the most consistent based on our parameters. He scored eight or more points in 11 of 15 starts and had six double-digit performances, the best of which came in Week 10 when he scored 12 points on two field goals (44, 50) and three extra points against Kansas City. However, Elam will be considered more of a No. 2 fantasy kicker in Atlanta. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Green Bay Packers |  Mason Crosby (67 percent) | Crosby led all kickers with an impressive 146 fantasy points in his rookie season. He started slow but turned it on with five double-digit performances in his final eight starts. Crosby, who scored eight or more points 10 times, is a perfect example of how solid kickers can come out of nowhere and make an impact for fantasy owners. Even without Brett Favre, look for Crosby to be one of the first kickers drafted in all 2008 drafts. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Dallas Cowboys |  Nick Folk (67 percent) | Much like Crosby, Folk was not considered a valuable asset in 2007 drafts but broke out and become a top-notch fantasy starter across the board. He recorded eight or more points on 10 different occasions and hit double digit points five times. Folk's best stat line came in Week 5, when he hit four field goals (47, 29, 37, 53) including a game winner in Buffalo. Look for him to be one of the first kickers selected in the late rounds of 2008 drafts. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 New England Patriots |  Stephen Gostkowski (67 percent) | It seems like the Patriots make all the right moves. The team let Super Bowl hero Adam Vinatieri leave as a free agent in 2006, and his replacement, Gostkowski, now has more value than he does in fantasy football. Gostkowski scored eight or more 10 times and reached double digits on five different occasions. His best stat line of the fantasy season came in Week 6, when he scored 13 points in a 48-27 win over the Dallas Cowboys. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Chicago Bears |  Robbie Gould (67 percent) | Gould started last season slow (he was on waivers in countless fantasy leagues at midseason), but he came on in the second half to record eight or more points 10 different times. In fact, the veteran out of Penn State reached our average mark in every contest in Weeks 11-16. Gould, who will be a No. 1 fantasy kicker in all 2008 drafts, had his best stat line in Week 7 when he scored 15 points against the Philadelphia Eagles. |
Consistent
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 St. Louis Rams |  Josh Brown (53 percent) | One of the more underrated kickers in fantasy land, Brown scored eight or more points eight times and had five weeks with double-digit points. Brown, who has hit at least one field goal of 54 or more yards in each of his five NFL seasons, also scored in double digits in two of the three fantasy postseason weeks. His best performance came in Week 7, when he scored 18 points on four field goals in a win over his new team, the St. Louis Rams. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Houston Texans |  Kris Brown (53 percent) | Brown had the best fantasy season of his career in 2007, as he finished ninth in points among kickers on NFL.com. He scored eight or more points eight times, but his best performance came in Week 5 when he hit five field goals (54, 43, 54, 20, 57), including three from 54-plus yards, in a win over the Miami Dolphins. Brown did have some mediocre weeks as well, however, so he will be considered a low-end No. 1 fantasy kicker. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Cincinnati Bengals |  Shayne Graham (53 percent) | Outside of one incredible 21-point performance in Week 10, Graham wasn't the most explosive kicker in fantasy football in 2007. But in terms of consistent production, he wasn't bad based on our research. Graham had an unimpressive three double-digit performances in the fantasy football season, but he hit our eight-point mark eight times. He should be seen as a viable No. 1 fantasy kicker in 2008 drafts. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Pittsburgh Steelers |  Jeff Reed (53 percent) | If there was ever a roller coaster ride of a kicker, it was Reed in the 2007 season. He scored double-digit points in each of his first three starts, failed to hit that mark in his next five contests, and then scored a combined 22 points the next two weeks. Overall he hit our eight-point mark on eight different occasions, so he was consistent based on our parameters. However, Reed will be seen as a No. 2 fantasy kicker this season. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Indianapolis Colts |  Adam Vinatieri (53 percent) | Vinatieri was one of the biggest disappointments at his position last season, as he finished 13th among kickers on NFL.com. However, Vinatieri did hit our eight-part mark in eight contests and finished on the consistent side of our research. The problem was that most of his damage was done earlier in the first half -- Vinatieri opened with three straight double-digit starts but failed to reach such numbers the rest of the season. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Detroit Lions |  Jason Hanson (50 percent) | Hanson finished last season as one of the 10 best kickers in fantasy football on NFL.com, as he totaled 132 fantasy points. The veteran out of Washington State connected on close to 83 percent of his field-goal attempts and reached our mark for consistent production on eight different occasions. One of his best performances came in Week 12, when he booted four field goals in a loss to Green Bay. Hanson will be seen as a high-end No. 2 fantasy kicker this season. |
Inconsistent
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Tennessee Titans |  Rob Bironas (47 percent) | While it's true that Bironas finished third in fantasy points among kickers on NFL.com last season, his record-setting performance against the Houston Texans in Week 7 (29 points on eight field goals) accounted for close to 20 percent of his production. He hit our eight-point mark in seven of 15 starts, and he had single-digit points in four of the final five weeks of the fantasy season. Still, Bironas will be seen as a No. 1 fantasy kicker in 2008. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Cleveland Browns |  Phil Dawson (40 percent) | Dawson's 2007 numbers ranked him as a No. 1 fantasy kicker in NFL.com leagues with 12-plus teams, but the veteran had more mediocre starts than solid ones. He hit our eight-point mark six times during the fantasy season, and Dawson failed to reach double digits 10 times. He also faltered down the stretch, as he averaged fewer than six fantasy points in Weeks 13-16 However, he'll still be seen as a low-end fantasy starter this season. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 San Diego Chargers |  Nate Kaeding (33 percent) | Kaeding was the consensus No. 1 fantasy kicker on most 2007 preseason rank lists, but he failed to meet statistical expectations. He finished 13th among kickers on NFL.com with 114 points, and it took a strong finish to reach that level. Kaeding did score double-digit points in Weeks 15 and 16, but he reached our eight-point mark a mere five times overall and was not at all consistent. Still, Kaeding has the tools to make an impact for owners this season. |
| Team | Player | Analysis |
 Arizona Cardinals |  Neil Rackers (33 percent) | Rackers, who was the top kicker in fantasy football a few seasons back, has seen his numbers (and value) take a serious tumble. He scored double-digit points in two of his first three starts, but the veteran out of Illinois went on to reach that level of production just two more times the rest of the fantasy season. Rackers, who 20th among kickers on NFL.com, will be seen as no more than a No. 2 fantasy kicker this season. |
