The revolving door at placekicker for the Los Angeles Chargers swung open once again on Monday with the release of Caleb Sturgis after a dreadful day against the Seahawks on Sunday. Sturgis missed two extra points and his sole field goal attempt on the day for a whopping negative two points for fantasy owners. Luckily for Charger fans, their team came away with a victory despite the seemingly never-never-ending kicking woes for head coach Anthony Lynn.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, three of the top five heavily-owned kickers, Wil Lutz, Greg Zuerlein, and Justin Tucker, each came through with a top-five performance this week as balance was somewhat restored at the top of the kicker rankings. All three players will continue to be top-10 players throughout the remainder of the fantasy season.

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Week 9 strong performances from widely-available kickers

Cody Parkey (CHI) vs. Buffalo: 9% ownership on Yahoo

With a K Score of 50 (Less than 40 is ideal) and three consecutive weeks of eight fantasy points or less, Parkey was buried down on my kicker rankings against a Buffalo team that entered Week 9 playing solid defense. In hindsight, I should have given Parkey a higher ranking based on the decent probability of Nathan Peterman giving the Bears defense multiple touchdown scoring opportunities and short fields. That is precisely what happened, as Parkey finished the day with 12 fantasy points in what turned out to be a reasonably low-scoring week across the board for fantasy kickers.

Jason Myers (NYJ) @ Miami: 26% ownership on Yahoo

If you were to poll 100 random fantasy football players and ask them who is second behind Stephen Gostkowski in fantasy points scored this season I imagine less then 20% would be able to answer Jason Myers correctly. Although his season-totals are somewhat skewed by a 27-point barrage against the Colts in Week 6 (which was accurately predicted by the K Score), Myers has only one other double-digit game this season. Myers came close to double figures with two field goals against the Dolphins, including a 56-yard attempt in what turned out to be a very low scoring game between two AFC East foes.

Giorgio Tavecchio (ATL) @ Washington: 11% ownership on Yahoo

Like a soft cashmere sweater on a chilly fall afternoon (an ode to my fellow Seinfeld geeks), Giorgio Tavechhio has given the Falcons coaching staff some comfort at the kicker position with Matt Bryant still on the shelf with an injury. The left-footed second-year player followed up his two 50-yard field goal day last week against the Giants with five PAT’s and one field goal against the Redskins at Fed Ex Field. As long as Bryant continues to be out with a hamstring injury, Tavecchio should be viewed as a strong play.

Week Dud Performances from heavily-owned kickers

Chris Boswell (PIT) @ Baltimore: 49% ownership on Yahoo

For some reason that I can’t seem to grasp how Chris Boswell continues to be owned and started in a high percentage of fantasy leagues even though he ranks 29th in field goal percentage while missing four extra points on the season. It would make more sense if he were getting a high number of attempts and volume to justify the negative points for missed PATs and field goals, but that is just not the case, as only Arizona has kicked fewer field goals than Pittsburgh.

Boswell missed another extra point this week and only received one field goal opportunity for four fantasy points. He has yet to score more than eight fantasy points in a game in 2018 while posting four games of four or fewer points. It’s time for owners to get the message and move on from Boswell.

Mason Crosby (GB) @ New England: 70% ownership on Yahoo

One of the reasons why Mason Crosby has rarely been an elite kicker for a whole season is the red zone efficiency of the Green Bay Packers and Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers and the Packer offense typically rank in the top five in red zone efficiency, which often results in fewer field goal chances. That has not been the case this season with the Packers ranked 20th in red zone efficiency and Crosby tied with Greg Zuerlein for the most field goal attempts on the year at 23. Crosby’s five-point dud against the Patriots on Sunday Night Football was a result of the game getting away from Green Bay in the second half after Aaron Jones fumbled the ball with the Packers in field goal range. If that one play does not happen, Crosby would have likely been close to the top of the standings for kicker points this week.

Kicker Rankings:

 
*Red Zone Efficiency is based on the inverse of how well the kicker’s offense does in the red zone. For example, the Ravens rank second in red zone efficiency; therefore Justin Tucker has a RZ EFF score of 31. The lower number, the better for kickers, as playing on a team that struggles to score touchdowns in the red zone equates to more field goal opportunities.

**The K Score is the sum of a player’s opponent red zone, the red zone efficiency of his offense, and the overall rank of his respective team in terms of total yards. A low score indicates that a kicker has variables working in his favor for a good fantasy kicking performance.

Kicker rankings are based on numerous factors, including matchups, Vegas lines and score projections, weather conditions, the ability of a kicker’s team offense and their ability to move the ball into field goal range, offensive red zone efficiency, and how well the opposing defense limits touchdowns in the red zone. These factors are a guide, but not a definitive way to predict kicking success, as other variables and negative game scripts significantly impact the outcome.

Based on all of the variables mentioned above, the following two kickers are players ranked outside of the FantasyPros ECR top 10 who could be an excellent play in Week 10.

Robbie Gould (SF) vs. NY Giants: 51% Ownership on Yahoo

Gould has been a valuable fantasy asset this season with four double-digit performances, including last week’s ten point game against the Raiders in which the former Bears kicker made two field goals and four extra points to finish tied for third in fantasy points for the week. A renewed confidence in the 49er offense and the best K Score of the week has Gould primed for another strong performance.

Josh Lambo (JAC) @ Indianapolis: 9% ownership on Yahoo

Playing Lambo is not for the faint of heart, as the Jaguars kicker has three games of four combined fantasy points sandwiched between two top-5 performances. He should be played only in situations where all factors point to a strong kicking day. This week’s matchup against the Colts indoors, ticks all the boxes for a multi-field goal opportunity day for Lambo, with the Colts ranking eighth in red zone defense and the Jags entering the week with the second-worst red zone offense. Assuming that Blake Bortles does not go nuclear and kill the team with turnovers, Lambo looks primed to have a big day for fantasy owners.

Prediction Review

Each week I suggest two kickers ranked outside the FantasyPros ECR top 10 who I believe will be solid performers based on the variables described in the K Score section. The following is a review of my picks from the previous week to see where I was successful and where I missed the mark.

Ryan Succop (TEN): @ Dallas

ECR Rank: 23
My Rank: 8
Week 9 Finish: Kicker #19

An inexplicable miss on a 28-yard field goal proved to be a six-point swing for Ryan Succop and his fantasy owners. If Succop makes that kick, he would have finished with seven fantasy points and tied with Stephen Gostkowski and Ka’imi Fairbairn for ninth place in the standings this week. I’m not sure how or why Succop shanked what turned out to be the third shortest missed field goal in the NFL this season, but luckily for him and the Titans, it did not cost them the game.

Caleb Sturgis (LAC): @ Seattle

ECR Rank: 24
My Rank: 10
Week 9 Finish: Kicker #32

This proved to be my worst prediction of the season. Not only did Sturgis miss his only field goal attempt and two of his three extra points for negative two fantasy points on the day, but he also lost his job and will likely struggle to find another opportunity to kick again in the NFL. If Sturgis were to make those three extra points and his field goal attempt he would have finished the week as a K1, instead he will likely need to start studying for his insurance license to begin his next career as an insurance salesman.

Waiver Wired

Top Add

Josh Lambo (JAC) @ Indianapolis: 9% ownership on Yahoo

Lambo is one of my sleeper plays of the week with a favorable indoor matchup against a Colts team that is surprisingly good at limiting red zone touchdowns. He is just a one week rental at kicker, as I do not like Lambo’s matchups after the Colts game. But if you have the stomach for it and want to roll the dice on a kicker with a high ceiling, Lambo may be the guy for your this week.

Other players to consider:

• Cody Parkey (CHI) vs. Detroit: 9% ownership on Yahoo
• Robbie Gould (SF) vs. NY Giants: 50% ownership on Yahoo

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Andrew Swanson is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive or follow him @FFtoday_Andy.