If you are a fan of the quick slants we've done at the end of the first three sets of rankings this week, we've got bad news for you: The kickers, defenses and special teams don't get quick slants.

Jim Tressel isn't here anymore. We don't treat special teams as if it's the most important aspect of football.

If we've disappointed you, hopefully this will cheer you up: Links to the rankings for the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers and tight ends.

Enjoy. And now the final two starting spots in your fantasy lineup you fill on draft day ...

Rank, player, team FG, 40+, PAT, Pts
1. Nate Kaeding, SD 23-28, 10-14, 40-40, 109
2. Sebastian Janikowski, Oak 33-41, 12-19, 43-43, 142
3. Neil Rackers, Hou 27-30, 8-11, 43-43, 124
4. Stephen Gostkowski, NE 10-13, 2-4, 26-26, 56
5. Matt Bryant, Atl 28-31, 9-11, 44-44, 128
6. Mason Crosby, GB 22-28, 10-14, 46-46, 112
7. Josh Brown, StL 33-39, 10-13, 26-27, 125
8. Rob Bironas, Ten 24-26, 10-11, 38-38, 110
9. Alex Henery, Phi ROOKIE
10. Billy Cundiff, Bal 26-29, 7-9, 39-39, 117
11. Adam Vinatieri, Ind 26-28, 9-10, 51-51, 129
12. Jay Feely, Ari 24-27, 10-13, 29-29, 101
13. Robbie Gould, Chi 25-30, 7-11, 35-35, 110
14. Nick Folk, NYJ 30-39, 5-11, 37-37, 127
15. David Akers, SF 32-38, 10-14, 47-47, 143
16. Garrett Hartley, NO 20-25, 8-9, 40-40, 100
17. David Buehler, Dal 24-32, 12-17, 42-44, 114
18. Dan Carpenter, Mia 30-41, 15-26, 25-25, 115
19. Ryan Longwell, Min 17-18, 2-2, 30-31, 81
20. Lawrence Tynes, NYG 19-23, 5-7, 43-43, 100

DEFENSES/SPECIAL TEAMS
Rank, team Pts-TD-Sacks-TO
1. Steelers 14.5-4-48-35
2. Packers 15.0-4-47-32
3. Jets 19.0-5-40-30
4. Eagles 23.6-3-39-34
5. Ravens 16.9-4-27-27
6. Patriots 19.6-9-36-38
7. Bears 17.9-4-34-35
8. Saints 19.2-2-33-25
9. Chargers 20.1-3-47-22
10. Giants 21.7-0-46-39
11. Lions 23.1-4-44-29
12. Chiefs 20.4-4-39-23
13. Falcons 18.0-5-31-31
14. Cowboys 27.2-7-35-30
15. Dolphins 20.8-1-39-19
16. Raiders 23.2-7-47-24
17. Vikings 21.8-3-31-25
18. Rams 20.5-0-43-26
19. 49ers 21.6-5-36-22
20. Cardinals 27.1-12-33-30

Note: For kickers, 40+ are the kicker’s makes and attempts from 40 yards or more. ... For defenses and special teams, points allowed are per-game averages. TD totals are defensive and special-team touchdowns. TO is turnovers forced. ... Statistics are from the 2010 season.

We'll begin the first of our six position breakdowns by going in reverse order of importance.

Ladies and gentlemen: The kickers. The players you wait until the final round to select -- unless you're That Guy who thinks he's being clever by picking Stephen Gostkowski in the 10th round or That Guy who drafts two kickers because you're too cheap to spend a buck on another kicker when your No. 1 has his bye week.

This weekend, we'll rank the top defenses and special teams in this space, and next week we analyze the top quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends -- aka The Ones You Care About. In Saturday's print editions and online, we'll have our complete rankings and a column about the evolution of PPR leagues and the reduced importance of running backs.

On to the kickers. Remember these guys in Round 16.

Rank, player, team FG 19-39 40-49 50+ Pts
1. Stephen Gostkowski, NE 26-31 19-20 5-8 2-3 125
2. Nate Kaeding, SD 32-35 23-23 6-8 3-4 146
3. Ryan Longwell, Min 26-28 16-17 8-9 2-2 132
4. David Akers, Phi 32-37 20-21 11-13 1-3 139
5. Mason Crosby, GB 27-36 21-23 4-7 2-6 129
6. Rob Bironas, Ten 27-32 12-14 10-12 5-6 118
7. Garrett Hartley, NO 9-11 9-10 0-0 0-1 37
8. Jeff Reed, Pit 27-31 23-24 4-5 0-2 122
9. Lawrence Tynes, NYG 27-32 21-25 5-6 1-1 126
10. Jay Feely, Ari 30-36 18-21 11-14 1-1 122
11. Matt Prater, Den 30-35 20-22 8-10 2-3 122
12. Robbie Gould, Chi 24-28 15-15 7-10 2-3 105
13. Shayne Graham, Bal 23-28 18-21 3-3 2-4 97
14. Matt Bryant, Atl 7-10 6-6 0-2 1-2 31
15. Dan Carpener, Mia 25-28 16-17 8-9 1-2 112
16. Neil Rackers, Hou 16-17 10-10 6-7 0-0 85
17. Joe Nedney, SF 17-21 11-12 4-6 2-3 84
18. Ryan Succop, KC 25-29 17-17 6-7 2-5 104
19. John Kasay, Car 22-27 16-17 5-6 1-4 97
20. Adam Vinatieri, Ind 7-9 5-6 2-2 0-1 38

NOTE: 19-39, 40-49, 50+: Kickers’ success rates in field goals from that distance.

QUICK SLANTS

Concern over Kaeding's postseason meltdown drops him below Gostkowski, who has scored a combined 410 points the last three seasons. ... Longwell has averaged 129.5 points the last two years. ... Akers has averaged 141.5 points in that span. ... Crosby has 397 points in his three-year career. ... Bironas has made a combined 12 field goals of 50 yards or more the last three seasons. ... In 13 games with the Saints the last two seasons, Hartley has 104 points. ... Gould had a combined 385 points from 2006-08. ... Rackers is in a training camp battle with incumbent Texans kicker Kris Brown. ... Former No. 1 fantasy kicker Vinatieri barely cracks the rankings after making only 15 field goals of 40 yards or more the last three seasons.

Just three words of advice when it comes to drafting kickers: Only select one.

Don’t be the guy who’s so cheap he would rather select two kickers -- thus covering himself for his starter’s bye week -- than pay his league’s fee for a free-agent acquisition.

But if you are "that guy," here is a list of the top 20, thus giving yourself plenty of backup options.

Rank, player, team FG 19-39 40-49 50+ Pts
1. Stephen Gostkowski, NE 36-40 26-28 9-11 1-1 148
2. Nate Kaeding, SD 27-32 23-23 3-8 1-1 127
3. Mason Crosby, GB 27-34 18-21 5-6 3-6 127
4. David Akers, Phi 33-40 21-23 8-10 2-5 144
5. Jason Elam, Atl 29-31 18-19 10-10 1-2 129
6. Rob Bironas, Ten 29-33 13-13 15-19 1-1 127
7. Robbie Gould, Chi 26-29 18-18 8-11 0-0 119
8. Ryan Longwell, Min 29-34 17-19 6-9 6-6 127
9. Neil Rackers, Ari 25-28 18-20 6-6 1-2 119
10. John Kasay, Car 28-31 16-16 11-12 1-3 130
11. Nick Folk, Dal 20-22 8-9 10-11 2-2 102
12. Lawrence Tynes, NYG 1-1 1-1 0-0 0-0 6
13. Adam Vinatieri, Ind 20-25 14-16 4-7 2-2 103
14. Rian Lindell, Buf 30-38 18-19 10-15 1-3 124
15. Jeff Reed, Pit 27-31 17-18 8-10 1-2 117
16. Kris Brown, Hou 29-33 19-20 8-10 2-3 124
17. Joe Nedney, SF 29-33 19-19 8-11 2-3 121
18. Josh Brown, StL 31-36 15-15 10-13 6-8 112
19. Shayne Graham, Cin 21-24 11-12 9-11 0-0 78
20. Matt Prater, Den 25-34 15-17 5-11 5-6 114

KEY: 19-39, 40-49, 50+: Kickers’ success rates in field goals from that distance. ... Statistics are from the 2008 season.

QUICK SLANTS

With Tom Brady healthy, Gostkowski had only 50 field-goal attempts combined in 2006 and ’07. ... Kaeding has averaged more than 50 point-afters per season the last five years. ... Crosby had 31 field goals and scored 141 points as a rookie in 2007. ... Bironas made 35 field goals that same season. ... Gould has made 32 of 39 attempts from 40 to 49 yards the last three years. ... Vinatieri has converted only 4 of 9 from that distance the last two years. ... Elam has missed only eight field goals in 91 attempts and is perfect on 109 point-afters the last three seasons. ... The Browns’ Phil Dawson, who scored a career-best 120 points in 2007, should not be drafted, but he would be a decent bye-week pickup.

Next: We'll conclude the six-part series of previews by looking at the best defenses and special teams