Week 4 Kicker Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds: Joey Slye Heating Up

After having a shaky start to the season, Stephen Gostkowski proved to all of us again how he will always be one of the best. He connected on three 50+ yard field goals along with an additional three field goals. The great news is that he is barely rostered by any teams at 5.4% ownership. Mason Crosby also continued to show how great he is as an option this year with another huge game. The Packers continue to blast any defense they face, and Crosby reaps the benefits with an influx of extra points and some field goals to boost his score. With more data from this season, we can see the kickers that we want to be targeting. The ones who can consistently convert on their attempts and those who are on teams with strong offenses. As we move into week 4, there are still great picks out there for those streaming kickers. Here are the top waiver-wire pickups at kicker for week 4.

Joey Slye, Carolina Panthers

Opponent: Arizona Cardinals
Own %: 6.2

Joey Slye and the Panthers have had their ups and downs this season, but last week, Slye converted on all five field-goal attempts. They were all shorter distances under 40 yards, but we saw in week 1 where Slye nailed two 40+ yard attempts that he has the leg to kick farther. He has boomed in two out of the three weeks so far and the Cardinals look to be a solid matchup for him to do it again. Only Washington has failed to put up points on the Cardinals and the Panthers’ offense is far superior to the Washington offense. Even the Lions put up 26 points last week which included Matt Prater going four for four on field-goal attempts. Slye has always been a consistent kicker since joining as the Panthers’ kicker and is set to have another great week in week 4.

Randy Bullock, Cincinnati Bengals

Opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars
Own %: 1.8

Randy Bullock has been a sneaky good pick this year. Even I did not notice how well he has been doing until now. The Bengals have gotten plenty of field goal opportunities, and Bullock has only missed one of them. Their inefficiencies at finishing off drives in the endzone have given Bullock additional value. The offense will likely begin to click more as the season goes on, but for now, Bullock has been looking like a strong option. He has boomed in two of the three weeks and this week will serve as a good matchup to boom again. The Jaguars have shown recent struggles, especially against the Dolphins last week. While Bullock’s use will possibly go down in the future, the near future is bright for Bullock, making him viable for a starting roster spot this week.

Ryan Succop, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Opponent: Los Angeles Chargers
Own %: 10.3

Ryan Succop has shown improvement each week as the Buccaneers’ offense continues to click better. After a slowish start to the season, Tom Brady has begun to find his rhythm on the team and is creating more scoring opportunities. Succop has only missed one field goal which was beyond 50 yards. Besides that, he has only had one extra point blocked. Even without many long field goals so far this year, he has put up solid fantasy production. As soon as the Buccaneers begin to have longer field goals, Succop’s value will only go up. The Chargers have averaged just a tad under four field-goal attempts per game against them so far, leaving Succop with a great opportunity to keep building off his last performance and seeing improvement.

Stephen Gostkowski, Tennessee Titans

Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Own %: 5.4

Believe it or not, after beginning the season two for six with combined field goals and extra points, Stephen Gostkowski is now the second leading fantasy kicker this season. He has since been a perfect eight for eight with field goals with four of those coming from 50+ yards. His six field goals last week is a number that will probably not be matched anytime soon, but we now see that he can be a reliable kicker. Seeing how little teams own him, he would a great pickup to get and hold onto as he could be an option even against better defenses. This week is a tougher matchup for the Titans against the Steelers, but seeing how well the Gostkowski has been doing, it should not be much of a problem.

Jason Myers, Seattle Seahawks

Opponent: Miami Dolphins
Own %: 25.7

Jason Myers has not gotten a ton of points because he has only attempted one field goal this season. Despite that, his extra point total is soaring. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks have proven to be one of the best offenses in the league. Having a kicker attached to a solid offense is important for setting the floor. It is only a matter of time before someone can figure out how to hold the Seahawks’ offense which will begin to lead to more field goals. As soon as that happens, Myers’ value could skyrocket. It really is only a matter of time before we start seeing Myers take more field goals as the offense begins to slow up. But still, the offense is too good to not attach to Myers moving on into the rest of the season.

Samuel Sloman, Los Angeles Rams

Opponent: New York Giants
Own %: 8.5

Samuel Sloman has not seen great production on the field as the Rams have had a slower start, yet he is still putting up numbers that have kept him from busting. While he is not a top option for really any week, he could be a potentially viable option this week against the Giants. The Giants have struggled on defense all year so far and have not seen improvement after allowing 36 points against the 49ers who do not have the strongest offense. The Rams have the same capabilities that the 49ers have to be able to run up the score this coming week. With that comes points for Sloman, making him a start for if you run out of options this week, but there will probably be better options out there.