Week 16 Kicker Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds: Not Too Late To Add Zuerlein

Nick Folk led the way in scoring last week for kickers with four field goals, three of which were over 40 yards. The Patriots failed to get the ball in the endzone which came at a benefit for Folk owners. As long as the offense continues to struggle, there will be opportunities for more field goals from him next week. As I have predicted, Greg Zuerlein has been a great addition to any team that picked him up. With another great matchup, it might not be too late to get on the bus if he is still available in your league for the finals. Sam Ficken returned to play with a great game for the Jets, converting on all three field-goal attempts plus two extra points. Usually, the Jets are not as productive offensively as they were last week, so even with using this game as momentum, there is an expectation that the offense will cool down, especially as they want to lose for the number one pick. Congratulations to any of you who made the finals and best of luck. To help you out, here are some kickers that will most likely be available in your league who are potential streaming options this week.

Greg Zuerlein, Dallas Cowboys

Opponent: Philadelphia Eagles
Own %: 28.1

A majority of leagues have not picked up on the fact that Greg Zuerlein has had back-to-back-to-back great matchups, and he has already shown that he is making the most of them. He put up three field goals and three extra points against the Bengals in week 14. In week 15, he converted on two of three field-goal attempts with five extra points against the 49ers. The Cowboys have recently found ways to put up points against weak defenses and they get to face off with the Eagles this week. They have allowed the tenth-most fantasy points to kickers in the league this season and with the momentum behind the Cowboys to win the division, you can bet that the offense will be firing on all cylinders. Opportunities to score will be plenty for Zuerlein this coming week.

Mike Nugent, Arizona Cardinals

Opponent: San Francisco 49ers
Own %: 3.4

Mike Nugent is likely to start week 16, but you will have to monitor it before you go entirely with him. Ever since getting the starting job from Zane Gonzalez’s injury, he has been perfect on every attempt. He nailed four field goals two weeks ago and hit his single attempt last week combined with four extra points. Needless-to-say there has been a lot of activity for Nugent since joining the team. That is likely to continue with a matchup against the 49ers. They have allowed the third-most fantasy points to kickers this season. Just last week, they allowed the second-most points on the week to Greg Zuerlein. With the Cardinals’ offense being more explosive than the Cowboys, you can safely assume that there will be a ton of scoring opportunities for Nugent or whoever kicks for the Cardinals this week.

Joey Slye, Carolina Panthers

Opponent: Washington Football Team
Own %: 30.3

Ever since the beginning of the season when Christian McCaffrey went down with an injury that has kept him out for the majority of the year, Joey Slye’s value has increased. No longer are the Panthers scoring touchdowns on every drive, but they are kicking field goals. The one problem with Slye has been his inconsistency, but his total number of attempts has off-set the misses. In the weeks in which he does not miss, he has put up some high point totals. Last week he went three for three in field-goal attempts along with an extra point. Those types of games have been the norm for Slye and a matchup against Washington is not pointing to anything different. They are not a great matchup or anything as their defense has been playing strongly, but they tend to let up field goals more than touchdowns recently.

Nick Folk, New England Patriots

Opponent: Buffalo Bills
Own %: 1.9

After a great game last week, Nick Folk is a great option with how much he has been getting used. Outside of week 14’s horrible result for the Patriots, they have been getting into scoring position plenty of times which led to four field goals last week. The Bills’ defense is around a similar tier as the Bills, so you can expect a similar type of result again. The Patriots have tools to move the ball, they just have some trouble finishing off drives as they have failed to get a touchdown in each of the past two weeks. That has resulted in more field goal work for Nick Folk which benefits fantasy owners. The options above are safer bets, but Nick Folk could be another sneaky good streamer yet again like he was last week.

Ryan Succop, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Opponent: Detroit Lions
Own %: 29.9

After what was a killer midseason with plenty of field goals opportunities, it has become more of a dry spell for Ryan Succop. He has only gotten three total field-goal attempts over the last two games with at least three extra-point attempts per game which has produced decent results but too exceptional. With that being said, he has a matchup to turn it all around against the Lions. On paper, the Lions have allowed few points to kickers and are in the top 10 hardest matchups, but they have nothing to play for anymore which will likely lead to more scoring opportunities for the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers have something to play for with the playoffs in reach and will be making the most of every opportunity which in turn means a lot of points for Succop whether it be many extra points or a couple of field goals. Nevertheless, this is the game for him to turn it around.