RADIO
We’ve made it to Week 17. The fantasy championships are here. For some of us, the run lasted just one, two or even three weeks. For the rest of us, this is it. The Coup de gras that our months of work will culminate in. Not that you care, but my two cents are that all leagues should end in Week 16 just to avoid star teams, such as the Kansas City Chiefs, resting their starters in Week 17 when they have their playoff spot locked up. Despite my own personal feelings, I’m still giving you one last week of kicker rankings before next year.
Due to inclement weather or other reasons, we had a very quiet week for kickers. Heading into the Monday night games, just seven kickers were in double digits for the week. Rock-solid options like Mason Crosby of the Green Bay Packers and Younghoe Koo of the Atlanta Falcons both struggled en route to a total of six points betwixt them. However, we did have a trio of 14-point scorers on the week which put them over players such as Seattle Seahawks wideout D.K. Metcalf, Packers’ running back Aaron Jones and Chiefs’ wideout Tyreek Hill.
With no bye weeks to bother with and playoff seeding completely undecided, it’s all about playing matchups right now. No one, outside of possibly the Chiefs, is resting up for the playoffs, and the draft order is still an extremely tight race as things currently stand. When going with kickers, you’re likely operating out of one of two camps, you want the highest ceiling possible, or you want the highest floor possible. The guys we look at today should qualify as both.
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Tier 1 NFL Kickers
- Justin Tucker (BAL) @ CIN
- Rodrigo Blankenship (IND) vs JAX
- Ryan Succop (TB) vs ATL
- Tyler Bass (BUF) vs MIA
- Sam Sloman (TEN) @ HOU
Baltimore Ravens’ kicker Justin Tucker takes our top spot. The Ravens need a win and they’re in a great spot to get it against a Bengals team that they trounced earlier in the season. Indianapolis Colts’ kicker Rodrigo Blankenship gets the next spot for similar reasons. The Colts have to win here, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are fully rolling over after allowing over 40 points to the Chicago Bears. Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ kicker Ryan Succop slides in at three. The Bucs are heading into the playoffs with a head of steam, and they’ll want to leave no doubt against their divisional rival which should keep Succop busy.
Buffalo Bills’ kicker Tyler Bass gets the fourth spot. The Bills can win the second seed if they win out, and they’ve already beaten the Miami Dolphins once this season on the road. Tennessee Titans’ kicker Sam Sloman rounds out our top five. With Stephen Gostkowski going to IR, the former Rams kicker takes over kicking duties for one of the top offenses in the league. After slipping against the Packers in Week 16, they’ve gotten into must-win territory for their playoff chances. If Derrick Henry can get rolling early, the Titans could put plenty of points on the board.
Tier 2 NFL Kickers
- Mason Crosby (GB) @ CHI
- Wil Lutz (NO) @ CAR
- Dan Bailey (MIN) @ DET
- Ka’imi Fairbairn (HOU) vs TEN
- Chris Boswell (PIT) @ CLE
Green Bay Packers’ kicker Mason Crosby leads our second tier. If Green Bay wins, they claim the top spot and Crosby has been nearly automatic all season long. New Orleans Saints’ kicker Wil Lutz is next. The Carolina Panthers vs running back Alvin Kamara is a disaster waiting to happen. Even though the Vikings are out of the playoff race, their backups could still put up points against this sad Detroit Lions’ team so the erratic Bailey has a high ceiling.
Houston Texans’ kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn slides in at nine. The Texans are only competing for pride at this point, and the game figures to be a shootout with plenty of points to go around. Pittsburgh Steelers’ kicker Chris Boswell rounds out our top 10. The Steelers can still get the second seed with a win and some help from the Bills, and they rolled the Cleveland Browns earlier in the season.
Tier 3 NFL Kickers
- Jason Myers (SEA) @ SF
- Cairo Santos (CHI) vs GB
- Graham Gano (NYG) vs DAL
- Brandon McManus (DEN) vs LV
- Jason Sanders (MIA) @ BUF
Seattle Seahawks’ kicker Jason Myers leads off our final tier. The Seahawks need to win to compete for the top spot in the conference, and quarterback Russell Wilson should find a way to move the ball into scoring position. Bears’ kicker Cairo Santos is next. The Bears are in the playoffs with a win or an Arizona Cardinals’ loss, and they’ll be pulling out all the stops for this one.
New York Giants’ kicker Graham Gano is next against the Dallas Cowboys. If the Giants win and the Washington Football Team loses, they’re in the playoffs. The Cowboys have struggled to stop teams just about all season long. Denver Broncos’ kicker Brandon McManus comes in at 14 against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders can’t get out of their own way right now. It’s also in Denver which is always a great boost. Dolphins’ kicker Jason Sanders rounds out the rankings for the season. He’s been consistent all year, and Miami has to win to make the playoffs.
Kickers to Avoid
Chase McLaughlin is our first avoidance of the week because *checks notes* Adam Gase is still the head coach. The Jets have won back-to-back games despite all the signs pointing against them. To finish out the year, they have a matchup with the New England Patriots, who, while struggling in their own right, should be able to keep this a low-scoring affair.
Cody Parkey of the Cleveland Browns grabs our next spot for a few different reasons. For one, the matchup with the Steelers is a terrible one that saw the Brown get blasted earlier in the season. Secondly, Parkey has missed at least one kicking attempt in each of his last three games. I’m not trying to count on that when my season matters the most.
Austin Seibert of the Cincinnati Bengals rounds out our final trio of the season. The Bengals are playing a Ravens’ team that is finally finding their stride, and they should roll to an easy win. The Bengals have overperformed in the last two weeks, and they have a strong case for a hard regression this week.
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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
