I believe Stephen Gostkowski and Justin Tucker will be the first two kickers taken. Those are the top 2 on my board. And of those guys, I give Gostkowski a big edge.

With kickers, I want a player on a good team. Gostkowski definitely fits that profile, with the Patriots looking very likely to score 13-plus points. With Tucker, the Ravens might contend for their division, but also could potentially fall apart and be more of a 6-10, 7-9 or 8-8 team. Tucker managed to score 140 points last year, even while Baltimore went only 8-8, but that kind of season tends to be the exception rather than the rule. Of the 20 teams that have scored more than 145 kicking points in a season, all but one of them also won 10-plus games. Of the 46 teams to score at least 140 kicking points, only one had a losing record (Neil Rackers, rocking for the 2005 Cardinals). And only eight other teams in that group failed to win at least 10 games (finishing 8-8 to 9-6-1). Latch onto a kicker on a winning team and things tend to work out well.

TEAMS WITH 140 KICKING POINTS
YearTeamRecordPts
2011San Francisco 13-3166
1998Minnesota 15-1164
2003St. Louis 12-4163
1983Washington14-2161
2016Atlanta 11-5158
2013New England 12-4158
2003Indianapolis12-4157
2014New England 12-4156
2012New England 12-4153
2015New England 12-4151
2014Philadelphia 10-6150
2013Denver 13-3150
2005Arizona5-11149
2008NY Giants12-4149
1991Washington14-2149
2005NY Giants11-5148
2008New England 11-5148
2011New Orleans 13-3147
2009San Diego 13-3146
2015Carolina 15-1146
2012• NY Giants9-7145
1996Carolina 12-4145
1999Indianapolis13-3145
2013• San Diego 9-7144
1999• Miami 9-7144
2008• Philadelphia 9-6-1144
1985Chicago 15-1144
2010Philadelphia 10-6143
2013Seattle 13-3143
2011New England 13-3143
2006Chicago 13-3143
2012Atlanta 13-3143
2010• Oakland 8-8142
1987New Orleans 12-4142
2016• Baltimore 8-8141
2013• Green Bay 8-7-1141
2012Minnesota 10-6141
1995Pittsburgh 11-5141
2007Green Bay 13-3141
2004New England 14-2141
2013• Baltimore 8-8140
1998Buffalo10-6140
1986New England 11-5140
2014Indianapolis11-5140
2013San Francisco 12-4140
2011Green Bay 15-1140

—Ian Allan