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 5.
I won’t beat around the bush, Week 4 was my worst week of kicker advice this season. I’m going to rip the bandaid off this recap. Matt Prater was my favorite start of the week but the Arizona offense could not get going against a red-hot Washington team. He finished the week with two points, tied for the least in Week 4. Dustin Hopkins and Blake Grupe were average to bad in Week 4, finishing with six and seven points, respectively.
Meanwhile, two of my fades, Matt Gay and Jason Sanders, finished the week above average with nine points. Cameron Dicker finished with only six points, so I guess that’s a win. I don’t really even want to count it, though. Feels like I deserve to get zeros across the board for that Week 4 performance.
That’s enough dwelling on the past. Byes start this week, there’s no other option than to be better. This week we’ve got Jake Elliott, Jake Bates, Nick Folk, and Cameron Dicker on bye. So who are we streaming?
Streams
Denver hosts divisional rival Las Vegas in this Sunday afternoon game. The Broncos are favorites, but their implied point total is only 19.5. Even so, Wil Lutz has attempted two or more field goals in every matchup this season. The Raiders have the lowest implied total on the week, at 17. If the Broncos can get any points early, and their defense can keep Gardner Minshew and company at bay, Sean Payton can lean on his kicker to clinch this divisional game.
There’s no positive light to spin it in, Jacksonville has been disappointing this season. They’re the only 0-4 team left in the league. Trevor Lawrence still hasn’t shown the generational talent we were promised he had. That being said, they were able to string together some offense in Week 4 against Houston.
Heading into Week 5, the Jags have a top-5 implied point total. Rookie Cam Little has attempted multiple field goals in two of their four previous contests. He’s hit two 50-plus yarders this season and the Jaguars are the home favorites against the Colts.
The opposite of Jacksonville in every way, Tampa Bay and Baker Mayfield have been a pleasant surprise this season. Outside of the Week 3 blunder against the Denver Broncos defense, the Bucs offense has been rolling. Chase McLaughlin has attempted multiple field goals in all three of the Bucs wins. He’s also hit one from 50 yards in all three of those wins. They aren’t favorites against Atlanta in Week 5, but the spread is only 1.5 and the game is indoors.
Fades
The Jets head to Minnesota this week to take on the 4-0 Vikings. Minnesota has allowed the fewest points to the kicker position. Brian Flores has that defense playing possessed. Aaron Rodgers popped up on the injury report after that defensive battle against Denver in Week 4. I don’t think it will matter if it’s Rodgers or Tyrod Taylor, I don’t expect a big output from Greg Zuerlein this week.
Zuerlein hasn’t hit a field goal of 50 yards or longer this season and his only attempt from that distance was a miss.
I mentioned that Las Vegas has the lowest implied point total on the week. Denver’s been playing absolute lockdown defense. Plus, there’s a good chance the vibes are off in Las Vegas with Davante Adams requesting a trader earlier this week.
Will Reichard has been an additional bright spot for the Vikings this season. Any Minnesota fan will tell you they’ve been through their fair share of kickers over the years. The rookie is perfect on the season. But the Jets haven’t allowed more than six points to a kicker since Week 1.
We’ve hit the part of the season you have to really lock in, you can sink or swim by streaming during bye weeks. Let’s swim.
