The legend of Giorgio Tavecchio continued to grow on Sunday, with the 27-year-old undrafted rookie from Cal making all six extra points and a 29-yard field goal to stay perfect through two games. The native of Milan, Italy enters Week 3 with the most fantasy points of any kicker through the first two weeks of the season, with five field goals and eight extra points. If he can stay perfect under the pressure of a nationally televised game on Sunday Night Football this week against the Redskins, Tavecchio should be considered a viable fantasy option going forward.
The start of the season has not been as kind to fellow rookie kicker Younghoe Koo, an underrated placekicker from Georgia Southern. Koo is just one of four to begin his career with missed kicks in consecutive weeks that could have won or tied games late for the Chargers. Despite his struggles, head coach Anthony Lynn is sticking with his kicker, telling reporters on Monday that Koo “competed well at training camp and kicked well in Denver. We’ll get a chance to see when things are going bad how he’s going to respond.”
It is refreshing for a coach to give his young player a break, especially considering that the Chargers could be 2-0 to start the year if Koo were able to convert on his missed kicks. Fantasy owners stuck with underperforming kickers should not be as forgiving as Lynn, as there are viable streaming options on the waiver wire that are outperforming heavily owned vets like Stephen Hauschka and Adam Vinatieri.
Here are three streaming kicker options that I am targeting for Week 3.
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Nick Folk (TB) @ Minnesota: (2% Ownership on Yahoo)
The kicking competition between Folk and Roberto Aguayo was one of the training camp battles highlighted in HBO’s Hard Knocks, with the veteran Folk beating out the former second-round pick Aguayo to earn the starting job for head coach Dirk Koetter. Folk made three field goals in Tampa Bay’s opening game of the year against the Bears on Sunday, including a 50-yard kick to close out the first half.
A road game against a tough defense could limit the Bucs scoring on Sunday, giving Folk multiple field goal opportunities to closeout stalled drives. I also like to target kickers indoors, as the wind is taken out of the equation. At an ownership rate of just 2% on Yahoo, not many people are buying into Folk being a viable fantasy option so far this season. But after a double-digit fantasy performance against the Bears Week 2 and another double-digit game this week against the Vikings, it would not surprise me to see Folk’s ownership levels spike.
Greg Zuerlein (LAR) @ San Francisco: (11% Ownership on Yahoo)
Legatron has almost everything you are looking for in a streaming kicker matchup this week against the lowly 49ers. The Rams offense has been surprisingly effective at moving the ball but ranks 12th in red zone scoring percentage through two weeks. The 49ers defense is not great, but they are averaging 100 fewer yards allowed per game compared to 2016 while allowing five field goals to opposing kickers over the first two games. Add in the fact that this is a Thursday night game and offenses tend to be a bit sloppy on the short week, and you have a recipe for a double-digit fantasy point game from Zuerlein.
Ryan Succop (TEN) vs. Seattle: (21% Ownership on Yahoo)
The Legion of Boom has been surprisingly leaky against the run this season, allowing 222 yards and a score over their first two matchups against the Packers and 49ers. By comparison, San Francisco’s much-maligned unit allowed 12 fewer yards on 17 more carries in their first two games of the year.
The Titans boast one of the best offensive lines in the league and running backs Derrick Henry and DeMarco Murray (if healthy) should have similar success moving the ball on the ground that the Niners had Week 2 (Carlos Hyde posted 124 yards on 15 carries). But the one area where Seattle has played well this season is red zone defense, allowing touchdowns on just 25% of opponents’ drives inside the 20. Look for the Titans to move the ball between the 20’s but stall near the red zone for multiple Ryan Succop field goals on Sunday.
Red Flag Alert
Stephen Hauschka (BUF) vs. Denver: (41% Ownership on Yahoo)
The former Seahawk kicker is just one for two in field goal opportunities this season, with a whopping three extra points in two games. A matchup against the Broncos may look like a play based on Denver shutting down drives, but it is fool’s gold based on the fact that the Bills will be down early and game script will limit Hauschka’s field goal attempts.
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Andrew Swanson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive or follow him @FantasyProsAndy.
