Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings & Start/Sit Advice (Week 2)

The 49ers, Browns, Patriots and Colts all held kicking competitions in training camp this summer to determine who would earn the job in 2025. In the case of the 49ers, incumbent Jake Moody held off veteran journeyman Greg Joseph to keep his role. For the Browns, Kevin Stefanski and his coaching staff turned to rookie Andre Szmyt as their starting kicker over veteran Dustin Hopkins.

With Week 1 now in the books, both coaching staffs are likely rethinking their choices.

Moody, a former all-American from Michigan who won the 2021 Lou Groza award as the Nation’s top collegiate kicker, has been an unmitigated disaster for the 49ers since joining the team as a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He missed a 27-yard chip shot at the end of the first half and had another short kick blocked against the Seahawks, lowering his career field goal percentage to 75%. Making just 46 of his first 61 tries is not what San Francisco envisioned when they tabbed Moddy as their replacement for the retiring Robbie Gould.

San Francisco fans can celebrate now, though, as the team announced they have waived Moody.

49ers fans celebrated a season-opening victory, but the Browns weren’t as fortunate. Rookie kicker Andre Szmyt, whose name might be worth a high score in Scrabble if proper nouns counted, missed both a crucial extra point and a short field goal as time expired. His miss cost Cleveland a chance to start the season with a win at home.

It wasn’t just a rough day for these two kickers. Younghoe Koo, who entered the game as the 12th-most accurate kicker, missed a kick that would have given the Falcons a divisional victory at home against the Buccaneers. It was another key miss for Koo, who is looking to bounce back from a career-worst season in 2024, when he hit just 73.5% of his kicks.

Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings & Start/Sit Advice: Week 2

Widely Available Kickers With Strong Week 1 Performances

Spencer Shrader (K – IND) vs. MIA: 1% Roster Percentage on Yahoo

Spencer Shrader is one of the winners of this summer’s training camp competitions that ended up coming through for their team, and the 1% of Yahoo managers who rostered him. Shrader was the top performer of the week with 16 fantasy points on four field goals and three extra points, as the Colts dismantled the pathetic Dolphins.

Cam Little (K – JAX) vs. Carolina: 34% Roster Percentage on Yahoo

Like Shader, Cam Little and the Jags took advantage of another poor defense to score 15 fantasy points on Sunday. Little scored 15 points on a perfect 4-for-4 day and could be an interesting fantasy option down the stretch.

Widely Rostered Kickers With Dud Week 1 Performances

Chase McLaughlin (K – TB) @ (ATL): 8% Roster Percentage on Yahoo

This turned out to be a lower-scoring game than I predicted, and Chase McLaughlin managed just four fantasy points due to a missed 45-yard attempt. Don’t panic; he should still be a top-10 kicker rest of the season.

Week 2 Kicker Rankings

Rank	ECR	Name	TEAM	Opponent	O/U	Spread	OPP RZ D	RZ EFF*	OFF RNK	Consistency	Weather	K Score**
1	1	Brandon Aubrey	DAL	vs. NYG	44.5	-5.5	10	1	17	0	0	22.5
2	6	Ka’imi Fairbairn	HOU	vs. TB	43.5	-2.5	9	4	16	0	0	26.5
3	5	Chris Boswell	PIT	vs. SEA	40.5	-2.5	7	3	23	0	1	31.5
4	10	Harrison Butker	KC	vs. PHI	46.5	-1.5	6	11	19	0	2	36.5
5	12	Jake Bates	DET	vs. CHI	47.5	-4.5	3	29	2	0	0	29.5
6	2	Cameron Dicker	LAC	at LV	46.5	-3	22	14	20	0	0	53
7	4	Tyler Loop	BAL	vs. CLE	45.5	-11.5	24	31	1	0	1	45.5
8	3	Wil Lutz	DEN	at IND	42.5	-2.5	23	23	22	0	0	65.5
9	7	Chase McLaughlin	TB	at HOU	43.5	2.5	21	28	3	3	0	57.5
10	21	Greg Joseph	SF	at NO	40.5	-4.5	14	18	4	2	0	33.5
11	8	Jake Elliott	PHI	at KC	46.5	1.5	11	22	8	0	2	44.5
12	9	Cam Little	JAC	at CIN	49.5	-3.5	30	19	25	0		70.5
13	11	Evan McPherson	CIN	vs. JAC	49.5	3.5	20	27	9	0	2	61.5
14	23	Spencer Shrader	IND	vs. DEN	42.5	2.5	1	9	13	0	0	25.5
15	18	Matt Prater	BUF	at NYJ	45.5	-7	19	30	10	0	3	55
16	13	Matt Gay	WAS	at GB	48.5	3.5	16	26	5	0	2	52.5
17	14	Chad Ryland	ARI	vs. CAR	44.5	-6.5	29	15	11	2	0	50.5
18	15	Will Reichard	MIN	vs. ATL	45.5	-4.5	28	13	12	0	0	48.5
19	20	Jason Myers	SEA	at PIT	40.5	2.5	13	18	15	0	1	49.5
20	24	Andy Borregales	NE	at MIA	43.5	-1.5	5	2	31	0	2	38.5
21	22	Daniel Carlson	LV	vs. LAC	46.5	3	2	6	27	3	0	41
22	19	Joshua Karty	LAR	at TEN	42.5	-5.5	25	7	14	0	2	42.5
23	29	Joey Slye	TEN	vs. LAR	42.5	5.5	4	8	26	0	2	45.5
24	17	Younghoe Koo	ATL	at MIN	45.5	4.5	18	12	6	3	3	46.5
25	16	Brandon McManus	GB	vs. WAS	48.5	-3.5	27	22	7	0	2	54.5
26	30	Nick Folk	NYJ	vs. BUF	45.5	7	17	11	24	0	3	62
27	27	Riley Patterson	MIA	vs. NE	43.5	1.5	25	16	18	0	2	62.5
28	32	Andre Szmyt	CLE	at BAL	45.5	11.5	14	5	28	4	1	63.5
29	31	Ryan Fitzgerald	CAR	at ARI	44.5	6.5	7	24	29	0	0	66.5
30	26	Graham Gano	NYG	at DAL	44.5	5.5	32	0	30	0	0	67.5
31	25	Cairo Santos	CHI	at DET	47.5	4.5	12	25	32	4	0	77.5

*Red Zone Efficiency is based on the inverse of how well a kicker’s offense does in the red zone. For example, the Ravens rank first in red-zone efficiency; therefore, Tyler Loop has an RZ EFF score of 31. The lower the 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 FantasyPros’ top-10 expert consensus rankings (ECR) at the kicker position who could be excellent plays in Week 2.

Week 2 Standout Kickers

Jake Bates (K – DET) vs. Chicago: 98% Roster Percentage on Yahoo

The Lions’ offense sputtered in Week 1, leaving most fantasy managers frustrated, but Jake Bates still managed a respectable seven fantasy points against the Packers. Even so, he enters the week ranked as the K12 in ECR, which looks too low given his situation.

Bates gets a favorable home matchup against the Bears, a defense that has shown improvement but could still force Detroit into multiple stalled drives. That type of game script plays right into Bates’ fantasy value, and his leg strength makes him a threat from distance anytime the Lions cross midfield.

I’ve got Bates ranked as a top-five kicker this week and expect him to outperform his consensus ranking.

Greg Joseph (K – SF) @ New Orleans: 0% Roster Percentage on Yahoo

As of this writing, the Niners have not officially named their replacement for Jake Moody, who was waived on Tuesday after his poor performance against the Seahawks. Assuming they bring in Greg Joseph, I like his chance to finish as a top-10 kicker this week with an attractive matchup against the Saints at the Super Dome. His K Score of 33.5 projects to have him score around nine fantasy points.

Prediction Review

Each week, I suggest two kickers ranked outside of the top at the kicker position in FantasyPros’ ECR 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.

Chad Ryland (K – ARI) @ New Orleans Saints: 1% Roster Percentage on Yahoo

ECR Rank: 11
My Rank: 5
Week 1 Finish: T-K10

Chad Ryland’s overall ranking does not look impressive, but he did finish 10th in a week where 12 kickers posted double-digit points. Ryland did not disappoint, and fantasy managers who rostered him should consider playing him once again this week at home against Carolina.

Brandon McManus (K – TB) vs. (DET): 9% Roster Percentage on Yahoo

ECR Rank: 16
My Rank: 11
Week 1 Finish: T-K11

The Packers impressed on Sunday with a dominating win over the Lions at Lambeau. Brandon McManus made both of his field goals and all three of his extra points. A closer game script would have likely added another try to his total and would have pushed him into the top 10 range. I like what I saw from the Packers’ defense. McManus is someone who should be rostered in far more leagues.

Week 2 Waiver Wire Pickups

Tyler Loop (K – BAL) vs. Cleveland: 39% Roster Percentage on Yahoo
Chad Ryland (K – ARI) vs. Carolina: 4% Roster Percentage on Yahoo

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About Author

Andrew Swanson

@FFKickerGuy

In addition to his work as a featured writer for FantasyPros, Andrew is a staff writer for fftoday.com and the webmaster/beat writer for ESPN Radio in Albuquerque, NM. Outside of writing about sports, Andrew is a Children’s Book author with three books available on leading retailers like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Walmart.com. His first title, “Bella’s Magic Dream Glasses” debuted number one on Amazon’s hot new releases for large print children’s picture books. Visit www.andrewswansonbooks.com for more information.