Kickers Corner
Are you ready to build your lineups from the bottom up? For many, the way to build is to start from the top, pick out the QB that they want. They leave Def and Kicker to the end and just take whomever you can fit. For some, they choose to start at the bottom and work their way to the top. This way no spot goes without proper thought. I am here to help you by doing that research for you with the focus at the bottom of the roster.
Before the Pick Research
I love to play on Fanduel and one of those reasons is that I believe that the Kicker gives us an advantage. So many people roster whatever cheap kicker they can place. About as much thought goes into who they play kicker as they do who’s the boss. The best thing is, the Kicker might be one of the easiest spots to select. If you want to know what I look for in selecting a kicker I have you covered in my How to Pick a Kicker to find out.
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For a quick refresher remember these tips
- Teams expected to score over 24 points and favored to win preferably at home.
- Teams who play indoors or where the weather is not an issue.
- Kickers who can actually kick the ball from distance with high accuracy.
- forget about the price, and focus on the skill.
The main reason we want to focus on everything but ignore the price is that no other position on your roster will have more chance to return points based on the difference in salary. Top priced kickers are 5100, the bottom price is 4500. Many top options will fall into the 4700 range, that means for 200 more you could easily grab a 15 point kicker whereas the 4500 guys may only be good for 8.
Wil Lutz
The best kicker for this slate might be Lutz. He is not normally a big scoring kicker but this week there is not a lot of safety with any of the kickers. I like Lutz for GPP and cash if you are going there. The biggest problem with Lutz has been his lack of use. He gets very few kicks from 50+ which are your big point grabs. He only has 36 kicks for the whole season which means he is not normally a volume kicker or distance kicker. With Vegas giving a touchdown favorite to NO and most experts moving NO into the next round I agree he is the play of the slate. 5200 might be a hard pill to swallow.
Matt Bryant
This is one of the worst kickers on the slate. Bryant is on the road in a matchup where almost every expert I have heard (around 15) call the win for the Rams. And with the 2nd highest price there aren’t even any savings. I honestly cannot find a reason I would play Bryant outside of going for the 3rd most used kicker of the slate. He is also the most accurate and ties for the most used from 50 yards plus. The problem is if Rams get ahead and Atlanta becomes touch down dependent, he will not be used anymore. Bryant is GPP only type play.
Harrison Butker
This slate feels like the best of the worst of the worst of the best. The problem with Butker is the potential weather problems of playing in KC in the middle of winter. It is freezing cold and can always be windy so make sure you keep your eye out for the weather. Butker does have some big upside. He is playing at home as a favorite against a team that KC can move the ball against. On top of all that he also gets the fun of having a team ITT over 24 points and is only 4900. Great play for the buck and as long as KC does not fall way behind it gives you some exposure to a great teams offense. Just watch that weather.
Josh Lambo
Saves you 100 and gives you some great box checking for a kicker. Nine point favorite and over 24 ITT. Sadly that is really where the excitement ends. Lambo has been only been used for FGs 20 times this season. Yes, he did get a late start into the season, but that is still a really small number of kicks. It’s not like he played on a team that struggled to win a lot of games seeing as he is in the playoffs. Lambo is a small saving in a great spot but has been mostly a low scoring kicker this season.
Graham Gano
Our next kicker is another on the road and not expected to be on a winning team. Gano was one of the best kickers to start the season but he quickly fell off as Cam struggled to move the ball. I am not sure if I would play Gano at all this weekend. The one thing I can say for Gano can put up points in any game. He only has one kick for 50 yards and that was a miss. Volume kicks and losing do not go well together.
Stephen Hauschka
There is not a lot of faith that Hauschka will do well. Not because he is a bad kicker but because his team is not that good and they are facing one of the hardest to face defense to play this season. The only reason you put Hauschka on your team is that you have Buf defense. I would be willing to bet a good penny against Hauschka doing more than 12 points without their defense owning Bortles.
Sam Ficken
Where is the Leg when you need him. Ficken is playing in the best game on the slate and is in the best position. The problem is he has 3 FGs attempted this season coming late. The Rams even went for it on 4th down when they hit that 50-yard range. I do not like when a kicker is not trusted and passed over for a 4th down. Ficken comes in as a cheap option that we will hope is given some trust and is given plenty of kicks.
Ryan Succop
I do not hate Succop for the price. I do not think that KC is a lock to win and if I were to pick on any of the underdogs on the road it is TEN. Succop is also a great play to stack with TEN def who has been a pretty solid unit most of the season. They have not been putting up fancy scores but in playoffs strange shit happens. I like Succop with or without the KC defense but do not love him.