Best Ball Kicker Strategy: How Kickers Affect Best Ball Fantasy Football Roster Building
Why most best ball platforms exclude kickers: the major argument for excluding kickers from best ball formats is that kicker fantasy scoring is among the most random positions in all of fantasy football. Kicker points are driven by field goal volume, which is driven by how often a team’s offense stalls in the red zone, which is itself partially random. Top kickers and average kickers score within 20–25% of each other in most seasons, and the variance around any individual kicker’s expected points is enormous. In a format explicitly designed to reward roster construction and draft skill, including a highly random position dilutes the skill component — which is why major best ball tournament platforms removed kickers entirely.
Kicker Strategy Quick Reference
| Kicker situation | What to do | Draft timing | Mistake to avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Format excludes kickers (Underdog, FFPC) | No kicker draft — allocate all picks to skill positions | N/A | Treating kicker-less best ball like you need to save a pick for kicker |
| Format includes kickers | Draft the highest-volume kicker available in the final 2 picks | Rounds 15–16 (final picks only) | Drafting a kicker in round 10 “to get a good one” — the top kicker rarely outperforms by enough to justify the pick cost |
| High-volume kicker target | Kicker on a pass-heavy offense with 30+ FGA attempts | Final round | Drafting a kicker on a run-heavy team — fewer red zone failures = fewer FGA = lower fantasy floor |
| Two kickers in a format | Never draft two — spend the second pick on an upside skill player | One kicker maximum | Two kickers for “bye week coverage” — kickers don’t have bye weeks that matter in best ball |
| DST in a best ball format | Same principle — final round only | Second-to-last pick | DST in round 12 — that pick buys a real skill player who can generate optimizer ceiling weeks |
| Early-ADP kicker run | Do not follow the run — wait until the last round | Hold until last pick regardless of run | Chasing a kicker run because “all the good ones are going” — kicker quality gaps are not worth early picks |
Kicker Strategy When Included
Optimal draft timing. When kickers are included in a best ball format, the optimal timing is almost always the final 1–3 picks of the draft. The difference in expected seasonal points between the top kicker and the 12th kicker is small; spending a meaningful pick on a kicker earlier than the last round gives up real value at other positions for minimal kicker upgrade. Drafting a kicker in round 14–16 of a 16–18 round best ball draft ensures access to high-volume kickers (those on pass-heavy offenses who create lots of red zone attempts) without wasting early picks.
Targeting high-volume offenses. The kickers with the most predictable consistent scoring are those on offenses that create lots of scoring opportunities — pass-heavy teams with efficient red zone offenses that drive into field goal range frequently but do not always score touchdowns. Kickers on pass-heavy offenses tend to attempt 30-plus field goals per season; kickers on run-heavy or low-scoring offenses attempt significantly fewer. In best ball formats where both the kicker ceiling AND the kicker floor matter (because the optimizer can activate the kicker in flex spots on high weeks), high-volume kickers provide more consistent optimizer activation than low-volume kickers.
DST Strategy in Best Ball
Similar principles. Defense/Special Teams (DST) in best ball formats that include the position follow similar principles to kicker strategy — save the position for late rounds, target high-turnover defenses or those facing weak offenses, and do not spend significant draft picks on a position with high weekly variance relative to skill positions. If a best ball format includes both kicker and DST, spend the last 2 picks on each, in that order, and invest all meaningful picks in skill positions first.
For how kicker strategy connects to full best ball draft strategy, see: Best Ball Draft Strategy: How to Build a Winning Best Ball Fantasy Football Roster.