Week 6 Kicker Waiver Wire Pickups & Adds: Younghoe Koo Set To Dominate

With impressive performances from kickers like Graham Gano and Jason Sanders, it may be the move to go with a kicker on a bad team that is facing a bad defense. Jason Sanders was out there almost every drive as the 49ers’ defense crumbled. He converted on all five field-goal attempts with four extra-point attempts as well. One came from 50+ yards as well. This makes it back to back weeks where Sanders has made five field-goal attempts, drawing many eyes as he can be considered a strong starting kicker. Graham Gano made all four field-goal attempts and two extra-point attempts. Three of his field goals came from over 50+ yards which makes Gano four for five from over 50 yards. With the data from these two kickers, the idea of starting a kicker on a bad offense against a worse defense sounds intriguing. With that in mind, here are the top waiver wire adds at kicker for week 6.

Younghoe Koo, Atlanta Falcons

Opponent: Minnesota Vikings
Own %: 30.5

The Falcons have been struggling to finish off their drives, and Younghoe Koo is reaping the benefits of that. He has received at least two field-goal attempts in each game this season and at least three in the past three games. He hit his first from over 50 yards last week. He is nearly perfect anywhere on the field with only one miss in 12 attempts. This matchup is the perfect matchup for Koo as the Vikings have allowed the most points to kickers so far. In standard scoring, they have allowed an average of 11.6 points per game. With the additional points from the distance of the field goals, the opposing kickers’ point totals reach some crazy scores. Koo has already shown how much he can do against average defenses, so it could be a very high scoring game this week.

Joey Slye, Carolina Panthers

Opponent: Chicago Bears
Own %: 19.3

After another strong performance for Joey Slye, he is emerging as a top kicker in most weeks. This week should be no different as the Panthers face off against the Bears who have allowed the second-most standard-scoring points to kickers this season. At 10.4 points per game, that is equivalent to three field goals and between one and two extra points. The majority of Slye’s field goals have come from under 40 yards, but once he gets some further attempts, his numbers could look even better than what they do right now. In the past three games, he has a combined ten attempts in which he has missed once. His 13 for 14 stat line shows that he makes the most of his opportunities which have led him to be one of the top-scoring kickers in the league thus far.

Jason Sanders, Miami Dolphins

Opponent: Denver Broncos
Own %: 2.9

After a monster week 5, it is hard to pass up on Sanders moving forward. He has gone five for five in back to back weeks and has only busted in week 1 and been solid and exceptional since. The Broncos have been susceptible to mass amounts of scoring from opposing kickers as Sam Ficken on the Jets went off on them a couple of weeks ago. As Ryan Fitzpatrick heats up, Sanders’ value will only go up with him. The Dolphins are appearing to be one of those teams who move the ball but fail to put it in the endzone. Seeing how many field goal attempts he has at 14, the ceiling for Sanders is high enough to make him a must-start going forward. He can bring a ton of value that other kickers cannot.

Matt Prater, Detroit Lions

Opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars
Own %: 49.2

Matt Prater has recently seen a bunch of ups and downs throughout the season. The Lions have been consistent with scoring against the lower-ranked defenses and failing against the better ones. They have managed to put over 20 points in each game, but Prater has received plenty of field goal action in some games and very little in the others. With their upcoming matchup against the Jaguars, there will likely be a lot of scoring going on. Whether that is touchdowns or field goals, this is the game in which Prater will be scoring a lot, regardless of how he is used. Prater has struggled from deep so far, but we all know his past and what he is capable of from deep. Once his consistency comes back, we could be seeing him back to where he was last season among the top.

Sam Ficken, New York Jets

Opponent: Los Angeles Chargers
Own %: 0.4

This is one of the risky picks that could go well or could go very poorly. Sam Ficken is one of those kickers that is on a bad offense but is facing a defense that allows plenty of points to kickers. When the Jets move the ball, it usually has ended up in a field goal as they have nine field goals as opposed to just six touchdowns. The Chargers have allowed the fourth-most points to kickers this season with an average of 10.2 standard points per game. Ficken has converted on every chance he has gotten so far and as week 4 shows, he has the potential to score big. Against the Broncos, he made all five field-goal attempts with one coming from 50+ yards. As the Jets take on a weaker defense again, they have the same opportunity again.

Ryan Succop, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Opponent: Green Bay Packers
Own %: 10.1

Ryan Succop was money last week with four converted field-goal attempts. I had him on the list last week, and here he is again. It will be tougher for him this week than it was last week, but the Succop and the Buccaneers have been proving to be a contender. Ever since a week 1 slow start, Succop has provided solid production each week. This will be the first tough matchup since week 1, but the momentum moving into the game gives him value. There is an abundant amount of kickers out there that will give good value for this week, which makes Succop more of a last resort, but there is still good value to be found here in him, especially moving into the future.