Kickers Corner

Are you ready to continue to build your lineups from the bottom up?  If you have not yet done so, check out my posting for Defenses Here.  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

1. Teams expected to score over 24 points and favored to win preferably at home.
2. Teams who play indoors or where the weather is not an issue.
3. Kickers who can actually kick the ball from distance with high accuracy.
4. 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.

INJURY NOTE:

Dan Bailey is out DO NOT USE HIM.

Nick Novak is set to play but does have an injury limiting practice.

Cash Kickers

Cash kickers will be kickers who can score us a solid 8-10 points.  If they get more that is great, but we really need that safety floor just like any other roster spot.  This could be 1 FG and 3 XP or it could be all FGs.  To find these we will strictly follow the rules laid out above.

• Wil Lutz
• Jake Elliott
• Stephen Gostkowski

Wil Lutz

A major favorite at home will always bring some appeal.  In a game against Chicago might be the game where Lutz actually breaks out for a big score.  Lutz has been about as safe a kicker as you can find this season.  Fanduel should just push 11 points on your scoreboard as soon as your roaster Lutz.  Great for safety, but has yet to show anything sexy.

Jake Elliott

Could easily be my favorite kicker for this slate.  A powerhouse offense, a solid defense, and an opponent that should not hold the lead.  These are all great for a kicker and when you add the distances Elliott is kicking from you really get something to love.  He is also only 4800 as a 13 point favorite at home with an ITT of 29.5.  What a steal.

Stephen Gostkowski

Always worth cash consideration but not one of my favorite plays.  Elliott and Gostkowski should be flipped in price and that would make Gostkowski a much better option.  I honestly do not know why you would want to pay up when Lutz offers the same safety with just a little less upside for much cheaper.  Elliott offers better upside with an even lower price.

Hybrid Plays

If you are not sure why a hybrid play is I suggest checking out a Geek Favorite to understand what I am talking about.  A quick breakdown, however, is these are players who carry a little more risk for more upside. This is an area where we can kind of skip some of the rules or interpret them our own way.

• Randy Bullock
• Stephen Hauschka

Randy Bullock

We get ourselves a little bit of a treat with Bullock this week.  A soft matchup gives the Bengals a great chance to right their offensive issues.  Their solid defensive start to the season should guarantee that Bullock will be relevant for the whole match.  The largest risk for Bullock is that he is almost never used.  No kicks over 50 yards and only 8 kicks attempted.  That means we really need some production change which is why this is not cash.  Great upside, only 4600, but high risk.

Stephen Hauschka

The big red flag would be the lack of ITT at 24+ but it is sitting at 23.75 so really it is close.  Our next red flag would be the fact that Buffalo is only a slight home favorite.  There is a lot of risks that come from this play for 4800, but it will give you an option off Elliott if building several lineups.  The good news is Hauschka is getting a lot of opportunities, has only missed two, and is being used from 50 plus.

 

GPP Kickers

This group of kickers may score you 0 points but they offer the upside of 20 points if things go your way.  These are the guys you may only play if you are going MME and looking to be different.  They are also the kickers who may win you that 30,000 person contest.  Of course, they are also the same ones who could lose it for you.  RISK BE WARNED!

• Nick Rose
• Matt Bryant
• Blair Walsh

These kickers are risky.  Each offers something that I see where we could end up with a great score.  For more on that join me in Slack and let’s talk about them together.