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.

 

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.

• Greg Zuerlein
• Dan Bailey
• Ryan Succop

Greg Zuerlein

This is a game in London making it not a true home game for the LA Rams.  For our kicking needs this week, however, there is not a lot of great option when following the tried and true formula.  Zuerlein finds himself some safety thanks to a high O/U which has shown over time too often play to the Over in England.  He is also making kicks.  I have no clue what the weather or stadium will look like Sunday so please make sure to check those boxes off before kick off.

Dan Bailey

Normally we would want to focus on home kickers, but there are not a lot of home favorites this week.  Bailey is a kicker we can trust in most games to hit what attempts he gets.  I like that Zeke will be active here to boost the chances of Bailey receiving opportunities for field goals.

Ryan Succop

Came back in a big way last week and was a slack favorite for me.  Cleveland is a great spot to take the chance at playing a kicker on the road.  Their defense has not been shut down, but it has also had a little more of a backbone.  This week should find a Ten team that continues to move the ball but will be a little less dynamic with Mariota still not 100%.  I like Succop to be a solid floor kicker with some upside.

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.

• Stephen Gostkowski
• Wil Lutz
• Chris Boswell

Stephen Gostkowski

A favorite at home in a big O/U game with an ITT well over 24 is a great spot to find a kicker.  Now when that kicker also happens to be as good as Gostkowski is even better.  Gost could be one of the safest plays of the week based on numbers but does still carry some risk.  First, this game cannot become a TD trade-off.  That will ruin upside for an FG kicker.  Second, the game needs to play fast.

Wil Lutz

Again we find a favorite on the road.  I never like when there are so many road favorites because they add more risk.  Still, Lutz should be set up to have a good game here.  His team is playing lights out and GB just lost their heart and backbone.  If this game goes 1 sided Lutz will benefit, if this game is competitive Lutz can benefit.  Great option for two-game flow possibilities.

Chris Boswell

Boswell is one of the few kickers who have the skill to make field goals when he is on his home field.  The risk to Boswell is he is not always used and when he is used he can have a missing problem.  He has not been used from over 50 yards this season.  He does only have two misses on the season which gives him a pretty solid percentage made.  Boswell is a kicker that you need to have volume come out to build a big score.  The matchup against Cincinnati at home is perfect for that game flow to happen.

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!

• Cody Parkey
• Stephen Hauschka
• Graham Gano

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.