NFL Kickers to Start in Week 13: Fantasy Football Tiers & Rankings

Yes, that’s right – kickers. After all, points are points, and even though kickers are very difficult to predict for fantasy points week to week, having the right one in your Week 13 lineup could be a difference maker.

For those of you fantasy football owners out there who are streaming kickers, RotoBaller has got you covered with around-the-league analysis of the Week 13 NFL matchups.  This week shouldn't be as big an issue with bye weeks, unlike last week, meaning there should be plenty of viable waiver wire streamers and sleepers available.

We’re here to give you our analysis to help make your kicker streaming decisions and make your Week 13 lineup decisions a bit easier. Some of these kickers may have good Week 13 matchups, and be available on your league’s waiver wire. Be sure to stay on top of the weekly NFL matchups and kicker opponents right here. Good luck RotoBallers!

Week 13 Kickers: Tiers & Rankings

Tier 1 NFL Kickers: Indianapolis Colts (Adam Vinatieri), New England Patriots (Stephen Gostkowski), Cincinnati Bengals (Mike Nugent), Dolphins (Caleb Sturgis), Houston Texans (Randy Bullock), Pittsburgh Steelers (Shaun Suisham)

The Colts and their Hall of Fame kicker take on the Redskins at home in Week 13. This is a no brainer must-start for Adam Vinatieri so no getting cute in this matchup. Next up is the man who replaced Vinatieri in New England, Stephen Gostkowski. He'll be facing the Green Bay Packers in Week 13, so you know there will be many scoring opportunities in this potential shootout. Ohio state native Mike Nugent takes his mediocre show on the road for Week 13 to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who allow the 4th most points to fantasy kickers; thereby making him our number one kicker waiver wire pickup for Week 13 of action. Caleb Sturgis and the Dolphins travel to Dirty Jersey for a Monday night showdown with Gang Green. The great news for him is that the Jets allow an average of 8.60 points per game to opposing kickers, thereby making Sturgis a very strong Week 13 kicker option. Texans great Randy "Candy" Bullock has been picking up the scoring pace of late and faces the terrible Tennessee Titans at home in Week 13. Allowing 9.20 points per game to opposing kickers, Tennessee makes a great team to pick on if you need a good waiver wire streamer at the place kicker position. Lastly for tier 1 is Steelers great Shaun Suisham who gets the Saints at home for Week 13. New Orleans has allowed an average of 9.70 fantasy points per game to opposing kickers, good for 5th worst in the league.

Tier 2 NFL Kickers: New Orleans Saints (Shayne Graham), Arizona Cardinals (Chandler Catanzaro), Dallas Cowboys (Dan Bailey), Detroit Lions (Matt Prater), St. Louis Rams (Greg Zuerlein), New York Giants (Josh Brown) 

Shayne "The Pain" Graham gives us a decent reason to use him in Week 13 as he faces the Steelers on the road. Pittsburgh has allowed an average of 9.27 fantasy points per game to opposing kickers, good for 7th worst in the league. Rookie Chandler "Bing" Catanzaro gets an indoor matchup versus the kicker friendly Atalanta Falcons who allow a healthy 9.20 points per game average to fantasy legs. He makes for a decent waiver wire streamer if you need a slight edge for the playoff push. Dan "The Man" Bailey plays for an amazingly good offense and is supremely accurate, but to make matters better for Week 13, he faces the Eagles at home in Dallas. We expect at least an 8-10 point fantasy output from the NFL's most accurate kicker. Matt Prater is scary to watch kick, but he has a leg for days and faces the junky Bears on Thursday night in Week 13. Use Prater as a decent waiver wire streamer for against the NFL's weakest defense versus fantasy kickers. Greg "The Leg" Zuerlein is creeping up our kicker tiers and rankings, and draws a favorable home matchup versus the lowly Raiders in Week 13. Look for Legatron to go for 10+ points against the league's 3rd worst defense versus fantasy kickers. Josh Brown cleans up our second tier as he travels to Jacksonville to take on the NFL's 2nd worst defense against fantasy kickers. Use this solid Week 13 waiver wire pickup if you want to be extremely savvy.

Tier 3 NFL Kickers:  Buffalo Bills (Dan Carpenter), San Francisco (Phil Dawson), Minnesota Vikings (Blair Walsh), Baltimore Ravens (Justin Tucker), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Patrick Murray), New York Jets (Nick Folk), Green Bay Packers (Mason Crosby), Chicago Bears (Robbie Gould)

The Bills and Dan Carpenter match up against the Browns at home for Week 13 (if Buffalo manages to dig themselves out in time). The good news for them is that Cleveland allows an average of 7.60 fantasy points to opposing kickers, making him a viable streaming option. Phil "The Pill" Dawson gets a home matchup versus the tough division rival Seahawks. Don't feel weird about starting him against a defense allowing an average of 7.60 fantasy points per game to opposing kickers. Vikings great Blair Walsh gets a home matchup versus a Panthers defense that's allowing 8.45 points per contest to fantasy kickers. He's a solid start for Week 13, so don't flinch about using this highly rated leg. Justin Tucker grades out as a top 5 place kicker based on Pro Football Focus, but he faces the San Diego Chargers who allow the second fewest points per game to fantasy kickers. We say avoid him for a better option if possible in Week 13. Patty Murray gets to go to work at home in Week 13 versus the Bengals generous defense versus fantasy kickers. Allowing 8.60 points per game makes them a perfect target to stream against, so don't fear the Buccaneers forgotten man in Week 13. "Saint Nick" Folk is nothing to spend time pondering about starting, and Week 13 will be especially tough versus the Miami Dolphins suffocating defense. Mason "Betha" Crosby is a good kicker, but falls into tier 3 or our kicker rankings for his Week 13 showdown with the New England Patriots tough defense. He also plays for an efficient scoring team which makes field goal chances much more rare than you'd think. Finally for tier 3 is Robbie Gould who faces the Detroit Lions in the Motor City in Week 13. Keep him good and benched versus the NFL's 6th best defense versus fantasy kickers only allowing 6.50 points per game.

Tier 4 NFL Kickers: Cleveland Browns (Billy Cundiff), Philadelphia Eagles (Cody Parkey), Denver Broncos (Brandon McManus), Seattle Seahawks (Steven Hauschka), Kansas City Chiefs (Cairo Santos), San Diego Chargers (Nick Novak)

Wilfredo Cundiff grades out as a top 10 kicker based on the ratings of Pro Football Focus and faces the Buffalo Bills in Week 13. Although their defense is very tough, it actually allows the 10th most points per game to fantasy kickers, an average of 8.90. Next up is RotoBaller favorite Cody "Hit It Out The" Parkey who is a top scorer, but draws a very tough Week 13 matchup versus the division rival Cowboys. He can be started at your own risk, but you should know that Dallas allows the fewest fantasy points per game to kickers. Brandon "Not The" McManus is only in this tier because he draws a semi-favorable matchup versus the Chiefs who allow an average of 8.20 points per game to fantasy kickers. The Seahawks and the 49ers will do battle in a tough divisional showdown, and Steven Hauschka may have a hard time scoring against a San Francisco defense only allowing an average of 6.10 points per game to fantasy kickers. The Chiefs are at home in Week 13 versus the Denver Broncos who are allowing the 14th most points per game against fantasy kickers. We think Cairo Santos is pretty bad at football and should be kept on the bench every week until he gains more accuracy and consistency. Last up in tier 4 is Nick "The Kick" Novak who faces the Ravens in Baltimore for Week 13's showdown. We don't like this matchup for the veteran as the Ravens only allow an average of 6.10 points per game to fantasy kickers, good for 4th best in the NFL.

Tier 5 NFL Kickers: Washington Redskins (Kai Forbath), Atlanta Falcons (Matt Bryant), Tennessee Titans (Ryan Succop), Jacksonville Jaguars (Josh Scobee), Oakland Raiders (Sebastian Janikowski), Carolina Panthers (Graham Gano)

The Redskins offense led by the beleaguered Robert Griffin III go to work on the road versus the dominant Colts in Week 13. Indianapolis only allows an average of 6.20 points per contest to fantasy kickers making Kai Forbath a must-bench for Week 13 and beyond. Atlanta's Matt Bryant doesn't get many chances to make fantasy owners happy and also draws a very tough Arizona Cardinals team for Week 13's home matchup. Don't think about using this unimpressive veteran against the league's 8th best defense versus fantasy place kickers. The Terrible Tennessee Titans take their tour to Texas in Week 13 for a showdown with Houston's suffocating defense. Keep Ryan Succop benched versus the NFL's 6th best defense against fantasy kickers allowing a mere 6.40 points per game. The Jaguars suck at football, and because of that we'll just pretend Josh Scobee doesn't exist for Week 13 or the balance of the 2014 NFL season. While we're at it, Graham Gano is about as bottom-of-the-barrel as it comes for fantasy kickers, so we urge you to keep him benched in Week 13 versus the Vikings stingy defense against fantasy kickers allowing only 6.80 points per contest.

Lastly on the recommendation list for Week 13's kickers, our partner in debaucherous crime, the Polish Powder Keg himself, Sebastian Janikowski. Let's give this former degenerate adult-film-star-pummeling pro athlete a big round of applause for managing to avoid suspension based on the NFL's personal conduct rules, or just jail time for his various sociopathic behaviors that have rendered him police bookings in various jurisdictions. Although we get semi-tempted to recommend this former soccer star as a Week 13 kicking sleeper because he'll be taking his shots indoors, the St. Louis Rams are far from a pushover defense and the Raiders have simply not had many scoring opportunities to speak of thus far in 2014. Keep this big legged, big egoed, legendary veteran kicker on ice for Week 13 and beyond.

Good luck choosing your kickers in Week 13 RotoBaller's! Feel free to hit me up on Twitter @RealTalkRaph if you want to discuss these life changing choices any further.