Fantasy Upside
Robbie Gould and the 49ers agreed in principle on a long-term contract this month. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the four-year pact is worth $19 million, with the first two years fully guaranteed. The $4.75 million per year average makes him the second-highest-paid kicker in the NFL -- behind only Ravens' Justin Tucker. The two fully guaranteed years are worth $10.5 million at signing, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero added. The figure makes sense, as it's about what the kicker would have made if he played the next two seasons on the franchise tags. Since being cut by the Bears in 2016 after two down seasons, Gould has been one of the most reliable kickers in the NFL. Over the past three seasons, he's nailed 82 of 85 field goal attempts. Last year -- his second in San Francisco -- Gould finished with the highest field goal rate among kickers with more than seven attempts, connected on 33 of 34 tries.
Fantasy Downside
While the Niners offense should be productive enough, there are questions about some of the pieces returning from injury (most notably QB Jimmy Garoppolo and RB Jerick McKinnon) and the wide-receiving corps lacks experience and a true, prototypical NFL WR1.
2019 Bottom Line
Of course, the shortcomings could lead to more field-goal attempts. Beyond that, Gould's reliability made him a weapon that San Francisco could not allow to walk away. That same reliability keeps makes him a high-end fantasy play.
