Last week I talked about the impact of the preseason rule change to move an extra point kick to the 15 yard line as opposed to placing it on the 2 yard line. The effects of this change are already being felt in a variety of ways.
NFL kickers be like…
https://t.co/XC4wGBwIct
— EA SPORTS Madden NFL (@EAMaddenNFL) October 6, 2015
This new rule could be just the start of more immediately impactful changes in the future. But, perhaps you don’t really care about rules, offensive schemes, or play calling. You want to know how all this affects you and your fantasy team. Well, I live to serve.
The Fantasy Impact of Rule Changes Regarding the Extra Point and Two Point Conversion
A good kicker is hard to find.
February: Mock Tiger Woods for shanking.
October: Get cut from your team for shanking. 😕http://t.co/Asx8ZpgFWk pic.twitter.com/OR9urzI1ap
— SB Nation (@SBNation) October 5, 2015
It’s hard to be an NFL kicker right now. Already four kickers have been released this season: Josh Scobee,Randy Bullock,Kai Forbath and Kyle Brindza. Before the rule change, an extra point was a lock.
Short yardage field goals were pretty much an afterthought, but this season has already seen what seems to be more than its fair share of missed kicks. Already there have been 17 missed PATs. There were only eight last season.
Obviously the change has had an effect, but what does this mean for your Fantasy team? Those kickers who are extremely accurate at long distances are going to get a workout. Kickers like Adam Vinatieri, Graham Gano, Steven Hauschka, Nick Novak and Dan Bailey are very accurate over 35 yards.
If field goals are tougher to make, than that means there could be a new importance placed back on the kicker position for Fantasy Football.
Conclusion
One of the changes that has largely gone unnoticed with the rule change is that defenses have more chances to score. While the defense will be least likely to see a noticeable increase in Fantasy points because of this, your defense can receive a boost in value with blocks turning into touchdown runs.
Some teams have yet to go for a two point conversion.I believe as the season progresses we will see more and more teams take a chance on a two point play.
How drastic the changes will be is yet to be seen, but there is momentum growing for the kicker being more valued in 2016 Fantasy Football leagues.
Categories: 2015 Fantasy Football
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