The pendulum swung back in favor of widely rostered kickers this past week, with four kickers with a roster percentage above 98% scoring double-digit fantasy points. Justin Tucker, Evan McPherson, Daniel Carlson, and Tyler Bass each came through with ten or more fantasy points, just behind the top performer of the week, Graham Gano.
Favorable game scripts and an improvement in accuracy led to higher scores in Week 2. There were just four combined missed kicks on the day, and two of those attempts were blocked tries. Weather also played a part in increased scoring, as outside of rain in San Francisco, the majority of outdoor games had favorable conditions for accurate kicks.
The breakout performance of the week and a player to keep an eye on is Brett Maher in Dallas. The former Cowboy returned to his old team after getting cut by Dallas back in 2019 when he made just 66% of his kicks. He finished the week with ten fantasy points, including a long-game winning kick at the end of regulation. It is early in the season, but Maher is a perfect 3-3 on his kicks (all over 50 yards) and has made both extra point tries.
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Week 2 Stud Performances from widely available kickers
Graham Gano (NYG) vs Carolina : 3% roster percentage on Yahoo
If you have read this piece over the years you know that I am a big Graham Gano fan. The Giants, over the past few seasons with Daniel Jones, have struggled in the red zone, making Gano a nice play in certain matchups against teams with strong red zone defenses and in game scripts that favor kicking. That proved to be the formula this week, and Gano led all kickers with 17 points.
Austin Seibert (DET) vs. Washington: 1% roster percentage on Yahoo
The Lions’ offense has something cooking up north, and Austin Seibert looks to be a kicker on the rise. His five fantasy points last week were a bit of a disappointment in that they came all from extra points. This week, he made two kicks along with all four extra points to finish with 11 points on the day. His matchup this week looks favorable, with a road matchup indoors against a Vikings team that just got torched by the Eagles.
Week 2 Dud Performances from widely-rostered kickers
Younghoe Koo (ATL) vs. Pittsburgh: 60% roster percentage on Yahoo
Koo went from the top performer of the week in the opening set of games to a dud in Week 2, with just four fantasy points and a missed 45-yard try. Koo is a great kicker and still should be considered a top-12 play, but negative game scripts like this are always a risk when playing for a dreadful team like the Falcons.
Kicker Rankings
| Rank | ECR | Name | TEAM | Opponent | Spread | O/U | OPP RZ D | RZ EFF* | OFF RNK | K Score** | Weather |
| 1 | 1 | Justin Tucker | BAL | at NE | -3 | 44 | 3 | 17 | 12 | 32 | 70F Light Wind |
| 9 | 9 | Ryan Succop | TB | vs. GB | -2.5 | 41 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 33 | 88F, 6 MPH Wind |
| 2 | 2 | Daniel Carlson | LV | at TEN | -2 | 47 | 17 | 16 | 23 | 56 | 68F Chance of Rain |
| 7 | 7 | Brandon McManus | DEN | vs. SF | 1.5 | 46 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 27 | 72F, 5 MPH Wind |
| 3 | 3 | Tyler Bass | BUF | at MIA | -4.5 | 52 | 25 | 23 | 3 | 51 | 86F 10 MPH Wind |
| 10 | 10 | Robbie Gould | SF | at DEN | -1.5 | 46 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 21 | 72F, 5 MPH Wind |
| 6 | 6 | Dustin Hopkins | LAC | vs. JAC | -7 | 48 | 11 | 18 | 10 | 39 | Dome |
| 4 | 4 | Matt Gay | LAR | at ARI | -4 | 51 | 28 | 23 | 26 | 77 | Dome |
| 5 | 5 | Evan McPherson | CIN | at NYJ | -5.5 | 52 | 25 | 13 | 18 | 56 | 72F. 8 MPH Wind |
| 8 | 8 | Jake Elliott | PHI | at WAS | -4.5 | 50 | 16 | 23 | 1 | 40 | 76F, 7 MPH Wind |
| 17 | 17 | Cade York | CLE | vs. PIT | -5.5 | 39 | 6 | 14 | 9 | 29 | 61F, 17 MPH Wind |
| 23 | 23 | Austin Seibert | DET | at MIN | 6 | 53 | 7 | 28 | 4 | 39 | Dome |
| 11 | 11 | Greg Joseph | MIN | vs. DET | -6 | 53 | 30 | 4 | 20 | 54 | Dome |
| 12 | 12 | Younghoe Koo | ATL | at SEA | 2 | 42 | 2 | 13 | 19 | 34 | 69F, 6 MPH Wind |
| 13 | 13 | Jason Sanders | MIA | vs. BUF | 4.5 | 52 | 19 | 20 | 2 | 41 | 86 |
| 22 | 22 | Graham Gano | NYG | vs. DAL | -2.5 | 40 | 11 | 13 | 20 | 44 | TBD |
| 14 | 14 | Matt Prater | ARI | vs. LAR | 4 | 51 | 19 | 29 | 16 | 64 | Dome |
| 15 | 15 | Wil Lutz | NO | at CAR | -2.5 | 41 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 49 | 78F, 6 MPH Wind |
| 16 | 16 | Matt Ammendola | KC | at IND | -7 | 50 | 32 | 26 | 5 | 63 | Dome |
| 18 | 18 | Nick Folk | NE | vs. BAL | 3 | 44 | 29 | 13 | 22 | 64 | 70F Light Wind |
| 19 | 19 | Mason Crosby | GB | at TB | 2.5 | 41 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 35 | 88F, 6 MPH Wind |
| 20 | 20 | Joey Slye | WAS | vs. PHI | 4.5 | 50 | 16 | 31 | 6 | 53 | 76F, 7 MPH Wind |
| 21 | 21 | Chris Boswell | PIT | at CLE | 5.5 | 39 | 22 | 13 | 30 | 65 | 61 |
| 30 | 30 | Chase McLaughlin | IND | vs. KC | 7 | 50 | 25 | 4 | 13 | 42 | Dome |
| 24 | 24 | Randy Bullock | TEN | vs. LV | 2 | 47 | 22 | 25 | 27 | 74 | 68F Chance of Rain |
| 25 | 25 | Brett Maher | DAL | at NYG | 2.5 | 40 | 10 | 31 | 25 | 66 | TBD |
| 26 | 26 | Riley Patterson | JAC | at LAC | 7 | 48 | 11 | 16 | 14 | 41 | Dome |
| 27 | 27 | Greg Zuerlein | NYJ | vs. CIN | 5.5 | 52 | 25 | 20 | 8 | 53 | 72F 5 MPH Wind |
| 28 | 28 | Eddy Pineiro | CAR | vs. NO | 2.5 | 41 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 41 | 78F, 6 MPH Wind |
| 29 | 29 | Ka’imi Fairbairn | HOU | at CHI | 3 | 41 | 11 | 13 | 29 | 53 | 70F 6 MPH Wind |
| 31 | 31 | Jason Myers | SEA | vs. ATL | -2 | 42 | 30 | 1 | 31 | 62 | 69F, 6 MPH Wind |
| 32 | 32 | Cairo Santos | CHI | vs. HOU | -3 | 41 | 4 | 25 | 32 | 61 | 70F 6 MPH Wind |
*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 15th in red zone efficiency; therefore Justin Tucker has a RZ EFF score of 17. 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 3.
Cade York (CLE) vs. Pittsburgh: 24% roster percentage on Yahoo
The Steelers and the Browns play each other on a short this Thursday in Cleveland. York is a rookie and may struggle in prime time, but his K Score of 29 is hard to overlook. I anticipate the Browns will win this game and York will have around ten fantasy points. Another concern here is wind. If game-time winds are over 25 MPH, I would pivot to Seibert.
Austin Seibert (DET) @ Minnesota: 2% roster percentage on Yahoo
With 16 fantasy points in his first two games, including 11 last week in a shootout with the Commanders, Seibert is a sneaky player who should be considered in the right situations like this week against the Vikings. The game is indoors, has a high over/under, and the Lions offense is clicking on all cylinders.
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.
Wil Lutz (NO) vs. Tampa Bay: 9% roster percentage on Yahoo
- ECR Rank: 17
- My Rank: 12
- Week 2 Finish: 30
I was high on both kickers this week based on what was projected to be a low-scoring game between two bitter rivals. Unfortunately, Lutz managed just four fantasy points on the day while Succop came through with 10 points and a top-12 finish. There will be better days for Lutz down the road, including this week against a Panthers defense that just gave up 17 points to Graham Gano.
Chris Boswell (PIT) vs. New England: 12% roster percentage on Yahoo
- ECR Rank: 19
- My Rank: 11
- Week 2 Finish: T15
With eight fantasy points on the day, including a 50-yard field goal, Boswell would have snuck into the top-12 on most fantasy weeks. This week proved to be high scoring, with a whopping 12 kickers posting double-digit fantasy points. While technically a miss on my part, I doubt fantasy owners were too disappointed to get eight from a player ranked 19th on ECR.
Waiver Wired: Top Add
Ryan Succop (TB) vs. Green Bay 66% roster percentage on Yahoo
With back-to-back double-digit performances and a struggling Tampa Bay offense that has not fared well in converting touchdowns, Succop could be in line for another big week at home against the Packers. We saw what the Bucs did to Aaron Rodgers last season, so don’t be surprised if Rodgers and the Pack struggle again this week in Tampa Bay.
Other players to consider:
- Greg Joseph (MIN) vs. Detroit: 59% roster percentage on Yahoo
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Andrew Swanson is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive or follow him @FFKickerGuy.
