Fantasy Football 2006: Kickers & Defense

(This is the sixth of a seven-part series on fantasy football. In this series, the Corner looks at draft strategies and ranks the top players for every position. Today we rate the top kickers and defenses.)

Welcome back to our continuing look at fantasy football 2006. In the fifth part of this series, we looked at and rated the top 20 tight ends in the league. Today we turn our attention to the kickers and defenses.

Kickers and defense, although important for the makeup of your fantasy squad, should be saved for the later rounds. In our league we draft two quarterbacks, four running backs, five receivers, two tight ends, two kickers and two defenses for a total of 17 rounds. I like to draft my kickers and defense in rounds 14-17. Kickers are pretty much even for the most part and while a defense can make or break you sometimes, it's not good strategy to draft a defense ahead of a position player.

Here's the Corners rankings of the top 20 kickers in fantasy football for 2006:

1. Adam Vinatieri - Indianapolis Colts
2. Shayne Graham - Cincinnati Bengals
3. Neil Rackers - Arizona Cardinals
4. Jason Elam - Denver Broncos
5. Mike Vanderjagt - Dallas Cowboys
6. David Akers - Philadelphia Eagles
7. Josh Brown - Seattle Seahawks
8. Jay Feely - New York Giants
9. Lawrence Tynes - Kansas City Chiefs
10. Jeff Wilkins - St. Louis Rams
11. Matt Stover - Baltimore Ravens
12. Nate Kaeding - San Diego Chargers
13. Jeff Reed - Pittsburgh Steelers
14. John Kasay - Carolina Panthers
15. Ryan Longwell - Minnesota Vikings
16. Olindo Mare - Miami Dolphins
17. John Hall - Washington Redskins
18. Matt Bryant - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
19. Sebastian Janikowski - Oakland Raiders
20. Mike Nugent - New York Jets

Sleeper: Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots
Overrated: Janikowski.
Rookies to watch: Gostkowski.

Here's the Corners rankings of the top 15 defenses in fantasy football for 2006:

1. Chicago Bears
2. Carolina Panthers
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Baltimore Ravens
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6. Washington Redskins
7. Indianapolis Colts
8. Dallas Cowboys
9. Atlanta Falcons
10. Seattle Seahawks
11. New York Giants
12. Jacksonville Jaguars
13. Denver Broncos
14. Miami Dolphins
15. New England Patriots

Sleeper: Jaguars
Overrated: San Diego Chargers

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