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 6.
We did it. We survived the first week of byes. I told you last week that we would either sink or swim and if you took my advice last week, baby we were like Katie Ledecky out there. Chase McLaughlin, Wil Lutz, and Cam Little all finished with double-digit fantasy performances. Greg Zuerlein and Daniel Carlson finished with only five points on the week. However, Will Reichard continued the stellar start to his career as a Viking, putting up 16 points against the Jets. Good for him.
This week we aren’t just tackling bye weeks. Jake Moody, who has been a solid weekly fantasy option to start the year, sprained his ankle in the loss against Arizona. Matt Prater missed the Week 5 matchup against the 49ers. Bad omen for kickers in that game, I guess. San Francisco has picked up Matthew Wright to fill in for the injured Moody. Chad Ryland kicked for Arizona on Sunday, Prater’s availability for Week 6 has not been made aware as of writing this.
So, with guys like Harrison Butker and Will Reichard on bye and Moody and Prater dealing with injury, who do we turn to? Let’s dive in.
Streams
Chase McLaughlin has been so good for fantasy this season. He’s had three top-10 finishes. McLaughlin has attempted multiple field goals in every game except Week 3 against the Broncos. He’s kicked at least one 50+ yarder in all those matchups as well.
Tampa Bay is playing inside the Superdome on Sunday, they aren’t currently favorites. However, New Orleans lost Derek Carr to injury on Monday night against Kansas City. Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler will get the nod to start in Week 6. I imagine either of those quarterbacks will hamper a Saints offense that has taken a huge step back after the first two weeks of this season.
I expect Tampa Bay to get back in the win column this week and for McLaughlin to be a part of that. The Saints are allowing the 4th most fantasy points to kickers on the season and are tied for allowing the most field goal attempts on average to opponents this year.
Cairo Santos – Chicago Bears (27% rostered)
Okay, full disclosure I’m cheating a little here. I like to keep streaming options rostered in under 25% of leagues. Can I get a little grace for Cairo Santos this week? I hope so.
The Chicago offense is starting to hum a little. This week they face off against a struggling Jacksonville defense. The Jaguars have allowed double-digit performances to kickers in four of their five games this season. The Bears are 1.5 point favorites. Plus they’re playing in London. What is more poetic than kickers succeeding in London? Nothing.
This stream comes with a caveat (as does the next one). If Joe Flacco starts for the Colts, Matt Gay is in play. In Weeks 4 and 5, with Flacco coming in and then starting, Gay attempted multiple field goal attempts. The Tennessee Titans are coming off their bye, so they’ll be well rested but in their first four games of the season Tennessee allowed 2.3 field goal attempts on average to opposing teams.
Nick Folk – Tennessee Titans (1% rostered)
Like Matt Gay, Nick Folk’s viability will rely on which quarterback the Titans roll out on Sunday. Will Levis left the Week 4 game with an injury to his throwing shoulder. Mason Rudolph came in for relief. It doesn’t sound like Levis practiced Monday, so we just have to keep an eye on him this week.
With Mason at the helm, Folk attempted multiple field goals for the first time this season, including three from 50+. While he hasn’t attempted a lot of kicks so far this season, he is perfect on the year. The Colts have allowed three double-digit kicker performances.
Fades
I don’t know what the Chargers did to draw the Chiefs and Broncos back-to-back. At least they were granted the grace of a bye week in between the two. The Broncos have been borderline elite on defense. I expect this to be a low-scoring divisional matchup and Vegas agrees. This game carries the lowest point total for Week 6.
The Raiders are still in the midst of the Davante Adams dilemma. Their quarterbacks are competing this week for the start. I don’t think it will matter. The Steelers’ defense will have their way with whoever is under center this week. If the offense can’t get moving, the kicker can’t score. Daniel Carlson has only finished as a top-10 kicker once this season.
I touched on this earlier but with Derek Carr out and expected to miss several weeks due to an oblique injury and the Saints taking a step back offensively over the last couple of weeks, we have to be out on Blake Grupe for the foreseeable future.
