Adam Vinatieri

A true testament to longevity, the 46-year-old enters his 24th NFL season with a six-year streak converting at least 85 percent of FG attempts. He gets a nice boost playing indoors in the AFC South, but it's nonetheless impressive that he converted at least four kicks from 50-plus yards each of the last four years. Vinatieri should stay reasonably busy as long as Andrew Luck stays reasonably healthy.

The 45-year-old is still extremely accurate and actually seems to get better from long range as he gets older, but the volume simply wasn't available last season on a terrible team. While the defense still looks ugly, Andrew Luck is on track for training camp and finally seems to have a solid line to protect him. Vinatieri finished fifth and third in fantasy scoring among kickers in Luck's last two healthy seasons.

Despite his advanced age, Vinatieri, 44, showed no signs of slowing last season, finishing 11th in scoring while being one of five kickers perfect on PATs (min. 23 attempts). His seven made field goals from at least 50 yards tied for second in the league, though his overall usage was fairly low, with 16 kickers attempting more field goals overall. Nevertheless, he still hit more than 85 percent of his field-goal tries for the sixth time in the last seven years, and there's little reason to think a drastic dip is coming in 2017.

The absence of Andrew Luck for most of last season was a considerable hit to the Colts' offense and their kicking game, as Vinatieri's 27 field-goal attempts were the second-fewest he's had in a full season with the Colts. However, his accuracy is as good as ever, as he's hit more than 92 percent of his field-goal attempts in each of the last two years, including 7-of-8 from at least 50 yards. With the Colts' offense expected to bounce back with Luck's return, Vinatieri should return to the elite group of fantasy options.

Vinatieri was the NFL's most accurate kicker last season, missing once in 31 attempts. His relative lack of field-goal opportunities (15 kickers had more attempts) can be attributed to the Colts' red-zone efficiency. Only four kickers, though, hit more PATs than Vinatieri's 50, which placed him third in scoring. He's been solidly accurate most of his time in Indianapolis (2012 aside), thanks in part to kicking indoors. The Colts played 10 games last year in covered stadiums and have the same number this year, plus December games in Jacksonville and Miami. Vinatieri's accuracy should continue, but the Colts' offense, with more weapons this year, likely will be efficient in the red zone once again, which again could limit Vinatieri's field-goal attempts.

Vinatieri turned in a surprisingly effective age-41 season, knocking down a career-high 35 field goals at a respectable 87.5 percent rate. The season compared favorably with those he posted during the prime of his career with the Patriots, and earned him a two-year extension in March. He’s supplemented his productivity by showing more ability from deep over the past two seasons, connecting on 8-of-13 from 50-plus yards, after converting on only 12-of-25 during the first 16 years of his career. With 10 games in domed or retractable-roof stadiums, the Colts won’t have much hesitation to run out Vinatieri for field goal attempts, perhaps putting another finish near the top of the scoring leaderboard within reach.

Perhaps overdrafted the last few seasons based on his big-game reputation, Vinatieri drastically declined in his age-40 season, hitting only 78.8 percent of his field goals. Although he nailed a career-high four 50-yarders and benefitted from more field-goal opportunities thanks to a much-improved Colts squad, Vinatieri finished 16th among kickers with 115 points. Even if Andrew Luck continues to propel the offense to greater heights (which likely would mean more PATs at the expense of field goals), Vinatieri’s best days are clearly behind him.

Like many of his teammates, Vinatieri’s value dipped with Peyton Manning out for the season, his scoring falling from 129 to 93 points. Vinatieri has never had a big leg (his three 50-plus yarders last year were actually a career high), and his accuracy has been fairly inconsistent year-to-year. Unless Andrew Luck can make the Colts into a top-tier offense, Vinatieri isn’t likely to turn things around.

Vinatieri enjoyed his best season since joining the Colts in 2006, as he made an outstanding 26-of-28 field goals (92.9 percent, second in the league) while making a league-high 51 extra-point attempts. His 92.9-percent accuracy and 129 points, which ranked second and third, respectively, were the highest of his career, save for his 2004 season in New England. Accuracy is paramount for Vinatieri, who will never be ranked among the league leaders in field-goal attempts while kicking for the efficient Colts offense. The Colts were tops in the league last season with an outstanding 67.9 percent red-zone touchdown rate. What's more, they’re the only team in the league to post a red-zone TD rate of at least 60 percent each of the last three seasons, averaging 67.3 percent from 2008-10 and never scoring less than 66 percent in that span. Unfortunately for Vinatieri, he's a career 82.7-percent kicker. And he's never had a big leg, making just 10 field goals beyond 50 yards in his 15-year career (no attempts last season). He still has fantasy value in a high-scoring offense, but don't expect another top-3 finish in points.

Vinatieri played in just six games last season due to a knee injury. Matt Stover was his standin, but Vinatieri will be back this season. An inconsistent Colts offense stunted Vinatieri’s output in 2008, but last season the Colts might have been a little too consistent for the kicker position. The Colts scored 51 touchdowns last season but had just 98 kicker points as they attempted the second fewest field goals in the league. They were one of the most efficient teams from in close, scoring touchdowns on 64.5 percent of their red-zone trips (third in the league). What’s more, don’t expect long-range scoring from Vinatieri. He’s made just two kicks from 50-plus yards in the last seven years, and in the last three years, he’s attempted just nine from 40-49 yards.

Vinatieri suffered his worst season last year since joining the Colts, in part because of an inconsistent Indianapolis offense. Vinatieri had just 10 field-goal attempts in the first nine games, and the Colts scored eight fewer touchdowns than in 2007. On the plus side, Vinatieri’s length returned after a year in which his longest kick was a mere 39 yards. Thanks to a healthier leg, Vinatieri converted a 50-yarder for the first time since 2002, going 2-for-2. It remains to be seen how exactly the new coaching staff will impact things, but the Colts figure to improve offensively this year - everyone who matters is back, the offensive line is healthier and Peyton Manning will have a full training camp this season. What’s more, four of five games in Weeks 12-16 are indoors.

Vinatieri had perhaps his worst season in the NFL, but still tied for 10th in kicker scoring. He didn't make a field goal beyond 40 yards last season, attempting a career-low two. Couple that with the fact that he has not made a kick of 50-plus in the regular season since 2002, and it's enough to downgrade him in leagues that award bonuses for long-range field goals. Vinatieri, though, kicks for one of the league's best offenses, and with no potential bad weather games in December, he is still a solid fantasy starter.

Quite simply, Vinateri is one of the greatest kickers in NFL history. He scored 125 points last year in his first season with the Colts. Expect the same productivity this season as the Colts figure to be one of the best offenses in the NFL again. In fact, Colts kickers have averaged 126 points a season the last five years. Finally, Vinateri benefits from playing 11 dome games and only one potential bad-weather date, Dec. 9 at Baltimore.

Vinatieri has always been a valuable fantasy kicker, but was somewhat limited because he kicked outdoors in the Northeast, and because of coach Bill Belichick’s reluctance to go for field goals of more than 50 yards. Things change for Automatic Adam in 2006. He’ll kick in a dome for 10 games (eight in Indy, two in Houston) and for a team with a more potent offense. We expect increased points from Vinatieri, who has averaged 116.8 points over the last five seasons.

Vinatieri led all kickers in scoring last season with 141 points, largely because he made a career-best 93.9 percent (31-for-33) of his attempts. Nothing will change much in New England, but Vinatieri is unlikely to keep kicking at that rate – he’s a career 82.1-percent kicker. Still, with normal output from the Patriots offense, Vinatieri is good for 115-120 points.

One Super Bowl kick made us forget that Vinatieri had his worst season as a pro in terms of accuracy in 2003. Back problems that the team kept quiet were a factor. Still, he’s averaged 114 points in the past three seasons and is a virtual lock to reach 106-plus for the ninth consecutive season. He’s only had 14 career attempts from beyond the 50, so they seldom use him deep. For those of you keeping track, the Patriots have two home games in December (technically, one is Jan. 2), but cold weather hasn’t usually been a problem for Vinatieri.

The only thing keeping Vinatieri from fantasy greatness is his home address and the offense he's riding with - he's usually one of the top 10 kickers when points are added up, but he's seldom challenging for the top spot. Nonetheless, he remains one of the more reliable kickers around, especially in the clutch, and he's never missed an indoor kick in his career. Vinatieri has four potential bad weather games in December, with three home dates and a trip to New York - but we're not overly concerned as Vinatieri has averaged 112 points during his seven-year career, and he's never finished with less than 106. Vinatieri is a great option with one of your final picks.