Week 4 K Start’em, Sit’em: Kicker Fantasy Football Strategy & Rankings

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Kickers usually don’t generate very many points to make a huge difference in your leagues but it is still important to know who to play week to week. This article will discuss the kickers that you should be starting this week and those you may want to avoid.

Start ‘Em

Ty Long, Los Angeles Chargers

Opponent: Miami Dolphins

The Chargers are without their starting kicker, Mike Badgley, again. They are forced to play their punter, Ty Long, who is perfect outside of Week 2 where he went 1 for 3. The Chargers face the Dolphins this week which means a lot fo scoring opportunities as the Dolphins have allowed the most points in the NFL this season.

Aldrick Rosas, New York Giants

Opponent: Washington Redskins

Daniel Jones was a surprise for the Giants’ offense last week, helping put a spark in a team that wasn’t scoring. This week should be similar as they face a worse defense that has let up the third-most points per game this season. There are not many scenarios where I would start Rosas but this week is a promising week.

Dustin Hopkins, Washington Redskins

Opponent: New York Giants

Despite this game being a battle of two struggling offenses, this should be a high scoring game due to poor defenses. Hopkins has only missed one field goal this season and is perfect on extra points which a lot of kickers can’t say anymore. The Giants have allowed the second-most points scored, so Hopkins will get a ton of chances to score.

Ka’imi Fairburn, Houston Texans

Opponent: Carolina Panthers

The Panthers have averaged 3 attempted field goals per game against them this year which is tied for the league-high. Fairburn did miss his one attempt last week from over 50 yards but the Panthers should give him plenty of second chances this week. In the past two weeks, he has been perfect with 5 extra points and 2 field goals.

Matt Gay, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Opponent: Los Angeles Rams

The Rams have a strong defense but have allowed the third-most field goal attempts per game this season. Gay had a busy week last week with 5 field goal attempts where he made 4 of them, one coming from over 50 yards. His one miss was the potential game-winning field goal as time was expiring. He also has scored the 6th most points among fantasy kickers this year.

Sit ‘Em

Stephen Hauschka, Buffalo Bills

Opponent: New England Patriots

The Patriots have allowed a total of 1 field goal and 2 extra points this year. It is just not a good idea to start a kicker against them this year even if it’s the Bills’ offense. The Patriots have yet to see a high scoring offense, but I wouldn’t test it this week. I expect this game to be a very low scoring affair between two great defenses.

Eddy Pineiro, Chicago Bears

Opponent: Minnesota Vikings

First of all, Pineiro is listed as questionable still, so I wouldn’t take the chance even if he plays. The Bears offense has started to pick up the last couple weeks but it still isn’t a proven high-powered offense. The Vikings are a tough defense to play against. For kickers, they have allowed the same amount of field goals as the Patriots at one all season. It’s not a good start this week.

Matt Bryant, Atlanta Falcons

Opponent: Tennessee Titans

Bryant has yet to get much usage this season. He has only made 2 field goals on 3 attempts this season and the Titans don’t give many chances. They average 0.7 field goal attempts per game which is tied for the second-lowest in the NFL this year. There are tons of other kickers you can pick up off waivers that have a much better of scoring more this week.

Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots

Opponent: Buffalo Bills

The Bills and Patriots game will likely be a defensive struggle with not much scoring. The Bills give up one field goal per game on average. The Patriots have yet to play against a strong defense, so this is a week to see what they can handle. Gostkowski overall hasn’t looked too bad with 6 made field goals on the year with one miss, but this is looking to be a slow week.

Dan Bailey, Minnesota Vikings

Opponent: Chicago Bears

Playing at the Bears is no easy challenge for opposing offenses. First, the Bears’ defense is one of the strongest in the league, so there won’t be many points scored. Second, it is in Chicago so it will be very loud for a struggling Vikings’ offense. Kurt Cousins has yet to assert himself as a leader of this offense, so I don’t trust starting Dan Bailey this week.