Kicker Watch List

Kickers to Watch in 2019
 

By Evan Jaffe, August 16, 2019

The new football season begins next week, so it's time to sift through our data and organize our Kicker Watch List for 2019.  Throughout the 2018 season our math formulas allowed for a precise evaluation of kickers and their individual performances.  Our methodology was based on past performance ratings which were determined based on percent of made field goals, distance of the field goal attempts, altitude of the stadium, and whether the kick was during a critical part of the game. In 2019, we will also add temperature and weather conditions to the formula.

We believe past performance is a good indicator of future performance, therefore, in creating our "Best of the Best" list, we decided to follow the math formulas unbiased view of who were statistically the best kickers from 2018.  The kickers are listed in alphabetical order (not ranked), but rest assured, if a player is included in this listing we believe they have significant potential to elevate the status of their team in the 2019 season.

One other note:  Predicting success for kickers is more difficult than punters.  Many capable kickers in the Top 50 have the physical ability and mental strength to be ranked in the Top 10 by season’s end.  However, when the average kicker has only 20 field goal attempts per season, just one or two missed field goal attempts can be the difference between a good kicker and a great kicker.  It’s a very fine line….so, while we believe all who made this list are most likely to be in the Kicker of the Year discussion, several kickers not on the list will make a strong case too.