It’s Week 1 for fantasy football and before you tell me that kickers don’t matter so why are there kicker rankings, Jason Sanders, the Miami Dolphins place kicker, scored more fantasy points than CeeDee Lamb in 2020.
Kickers matter.
A discerning stats nerd like yourself might bring up that, yes, while No. 3 overall fantasy kicker Jason Sanders outscored budding superstars like Washington Football Team’s own Terry McLaurin and Dionte Johnson of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mr. Sanders only scored about 30 more points than the No. 16 PK, long-time Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby.
So, do kickers matter? I don’t know, do you want to hear about it all week from your sister-in-law who beat you by .4 points because you didn’t bother to think about what kicker to start?
That’s what I thought. So, here is all the research you need to do for your kicker in Week 1.
Top Gun
Ryan Succop (K1) – Succop shows as rostered in 90% of CBS leagues, and I’m ranking him No. 1 overall this week. Kickers on teams which score a lot of points have a chance to score a lot of points themselves. The Buccaneers are projected to score the most points in the highest scoring game this week by the odds-makers over on DraftKings.com.
Streaming Options
Ryan Santoso (K8) – The Carolina Panthers released Joey Slye and named Ryan Santoso as their kicker. Rostered in only 3% of CBS leagues, Santoso and Carolina’s high-flying offense (yep, I said it, HIGH FLYING) take on the Jets in New Jersey in Week 1. Points-makers predict the Panthers to come away with the win, and they’re favored by five points. Don’t miss out on the Sam Darnold revenge game!
Sam Ficken (K9) – The Tennessee Titans are projected to put up about 27 points as they play host to the Arizona Cardinals. The Titans are two point favorites, and so the bookies think the game will be a close one. Ficken gives you a good shot at a better than average kicker performance, and it looks like he was only drafted by folks with Tennessee zip codes.
Week 1 Kicker Rankings
(% Rostered via CBS)
Rank | Player | Team | Opp | % Rostered |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ryan Succop | TB | vs DAL | 90+% |
2 | Robbie Gould | SF | @ DET | 60-69% |
3 | Harrison Butker | KC | vs CLE | 90+% |
4 | Brandon McManus | DEN | @ NYG | 70-79% |
5 | Justin Tucker | BAL | @ LV | 90+% |
6 | Younghoe Koo | ATL | vs PHI | 90+% |
7 | Jason Myers | SEA | @ IND | 50-59% |
8 | Ryan Santoso | CAR | vs NYJ | < 30% |
9 | Sam Ficken | TEN | vs ARI | < 30% |
10 | Tyler Bass | BUF | vs PIT | 90+% |
11 | Jason Sanders | MIA | @ NE | 90+% |
12 | Quinn Nordin | NE | vs MIA | < 30% |
13 | Daniel Carlson | LV | vs BAL | 40-49% |
14 | Josh Lambo | JAC | @ HOU | < 30% |
15 | Mason Crosby | GB | @ NO | 50-59% |
16 | Matt Gay | LAR | vs CHI | 50-59% |
17 | Chris Boswell | PIT | @ BUF | < 30% |
18 | Greg Zuerlein | DAL | @ TB | 90+% |
19 | Chase McLaughlin | CLE | @ KC | < 30% |
20 | Dustin Hopkins | WAS | vs LAC | < 30% |
21 | Matt Prater | ARI | @ TEN | 50-59% |
22 | Graham Gano | NYG | vs DEN | < 30% |
23 | Rodrigo Blankenship | IND | vs SEA | 90+% |
24 | Tristan Vizcaino | LAC | @ WAS | < 30% |
25 | Matt Amemendola | NYJ | vs CAR | < 30% |
26 | Jake Elliott | PHI | @ ATL | < 30% |
27 | Greg Joseph | MIN | @ CIN | < 30% |
28 | Joey Slye | HOU | vs JAC | < 30% |
29 | Cairo Santos | CHI | @ LAR | < 30% |
30 | Evan McPherson | CIN | vs MIN | < 30% |
31 | Austin Seibert | DET | vs SF | < 30% |