The kicker position is a tricky one if you don’t have the biggest names. Linda Godfrey offers streaming advice for the position in Week 1.
Welcome to the NFL season. We never thought this day would come. We’ve counted days, hours, and minutes waiting for that first glorious Thursday night kickoff. Drafting is behind us. Now, trade negotiations, the waiver wire, and a little luck in the injury department are all that stands between you and hoisting that fantasy football championship trophy over your head at the end of the season. We look for advantages week after week, repeating the mantras, “Start your studs” and “Take your Thursday players out of flex,” as we grind out our starting lineups across leagues.
I’m hoping to help you lift that trophy by zeroing in on kickers to start who are rostered in less than 25% of Yahoo! fantasy football leagues. I’ll also be including some kickers that I’m fading weekly. Streaming kickers will be crucial come bye weeks, injuries, and roster changes, but we can get a head start now.
Kickers to Stream Week 1
Cairo Santos – Chicago Bears (17% rostered)
Cairo Santos quietly finished last season tied for the overall K3 after attempting 2.2 field goals per game in 2023. He converted 92.1% of his field goal attempts as well. Chicago welcomes Tennessee to Soldier Field on Sunday, and last season, the Titans allowed the most fantasy points to opposing kickers. More specifically, the Titans gave up eight or more fantasy points to kickers in every game but two in 2023.
The Bears are favored heading into their Week 1 matchup and have the 6th highest implied point total at 24.75. Weather isn’t an exact science, but it looks like it’ll be in the mid-70s and clear.
Jason Myers also had a sneaky good fantasy season in 2023. He tied with Santos as the K3, averaging 9.3 points per game while converting only 83.3% of his field goal attempts. Seattle attempted a league runner-up 2.5 field goals per game last year. The Seahawks will host their former trade partner, the Broncos, to start the season. Denver allowed an average of 8.6 fantasy points per game to kickers last year.
Seattle is the home favorite with a six-point spread and a top-10 implied point total. This game will also have to contend with the weather, but it looks all clear heading into Sunday.
Another outdoor, home game kicker. The Bucs are home favorites against the Washington Commanders to start the year. The Commanders were one of three teams to allow an average of double-digit points to the kicker position in 2023. Washington’s defense didn’t get better this off-season. They’ll be a targetable opponent for kickers all year.
While Tampa Bay fell just short of averaging two field goals per game last season, I like this matchup for McLaughlin. McLaughlin had a strong leg for the Bucs last season, converting over 90% of his field goals.
It should be noted that McLaughlin missed Wednesday’s practice with an illness (sounds like the stomach bug that just trudged through my house). That’s worth keeping an eye on but as long the Bucs don’t bring in an emergency kicker it’s nothing to worry about.
Kickers to Fade Week 1
Dustin Hopkins was a fan favorite last year. Particularly after the Browns’ Week 5 bye, the kicker had five straight double-digit games. However, he finished the season with an injured hamstring. Hopkins didn’t play at all in Cleveland’s first two pre-season games. We saw his only action in the final pre-season matchup with the Seahawks when he converted a 37-yard field goal. Lucas Havrisik took the other field goal (a 49-yarder) and PATs.
Hopkins is likely healthy again, or the Browns wouldn’t have released Havrisik. Even still, Dallas was a top-5 team against kickers in 2023, allowing only three double-digit games all season.
Brandon Aubrey – Dallas Cowboys (99% rostered)
Please hear me out before you cancel me. I know I just said we repeat the mantra “Start your studs” at the beginning of this post, and by every metric, Brandon Aubrey was a stud for the Cowboys and fantasy managers alike last season.
But the Cleveland Browns tied with the Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins, allowing a league-low 1.4 field goal attempts per game last season. I’m not advocating for outright dropping Brandon Aubrey. I’m simply asking you to temper your expectations. Don’t overreact if Week 1 isn’t up to par for what we saw from Aubrey last season.
Daniel Carlson is still surviving off notoriety from his 2021 and 2022 seasons, but he took a massive step back in 2023 behind a lackluster Raiders offense. Las Vegas is headed to So-Fi Stadium for their Week 1 face-off with the Chargers.
The Chargers gave up an average of 7.3 points to the kicker position last season, tied for the sixth-fewest points allowed to fantasy kickers. Carlson attempted 30 field goals in 2023, but only three were from beyond 50 yards, tied for the second-fewest in the league. We must accept that the K1 Daniel Carlson from years past is a sweet memory now.
Happy Week 1! May your starting lineups be filled with booms, and your fantasy kickers launch 50-yarders right down the middle.
