Week 1 Kicker Streamers and Starts – 2022 Fantasy Tiers, Rankings

The NFL season is finally here and it's time to dive into everyone's favorite position in fantasy football -- kickers. Making start-or-sit decisions at kicker might feel like a fool's chore, but hey, if you're playing in a league with kickers, those fantasy points matter, and we've got to use the data we have to make the right choice.

Obviously, it's tough to project any position in Week 1, but kickers can be especially challenging considering last year's stats might not mean a whole lot. Kicking statistics are hardly sticky year-to-year, and as offenses improve or worsen, fantasy kicker performances will be affected.

We know we can count perennial studs Justin Tucker, Harrison Butker, and Tyler Bass, but if you drafted one of those guys as the first kickers off the board, you're likely starting them every week, so you won't be doing much kicker research as the season rolls on. For those of you who faded the kicker position until the end of your fantasy drafts, identifying the top streamers will be a priority each week.

Week 1 Kicker Rankings for Fantasy Football

Kicker Streamers to Target for Week 1

Note: Only player who are rostered in fewer than 50-percent of fantasy football leagues are considered streamers.

Dustin Hopkins, Los Angeles Chargers (vs. Raiders)

Hopkins scored 8.7 points per game last season, and he'll get a strong opportunity to wrack up points in a game with a 52.5 projected points total. This Week 1 game featuring Davante Adams, Darren Waller, Hunter Renfrow, Mike Williams, and Keenan Allen screams shootout, and in this early part of the season, we'll have to rely on high point totals to identify our streamers. The Justin Herbert-led offense could surely score a ton of touchdowns, but a couple field goals could be in store in the AFC West classic.

Brett Maher, Dallas Cowboys (vs. Buccaneers)

Again, we're relying on the projected point total with this selection. Maher has had an up-and-down career thus far, bust his best days have come with Dallas, and he has a 63-yard field goal on his resume. Last year, Dallas settled for five field goal attempts in the Week 1 showdown with Tampa Bay, so let's hope they fire up the kicking game again. Cowboys' head coach Mike McCarthy has taken plenty of criticism throughout his career for being conservative, so it won't be a surprise when the high-powered Dallas offense opts to settle for three early and often once again.

Greg Joseph, Minnesota Vikings (vs. Packers)

Like Hopkins and Maher, Joseph is playing indoors -- just how kickers like it. Last year, the Vikings attempted the third-most field goals. Ultimately, we expect this Vikings' offense to be improved from last year, but the Packers' defense is projected to be a strong unit too. What could this set up for? Field goal attempts. Joseph has made just over 86-percent of his field goals throughout his career, so he's pretty steady, and has decent range with a career long of 58 yards. This Minnesota-Green Bay matchup has often been a high-scoring affair.

Kicker Busts to Avoid for Week 1

Wil Lutz, New Orleans Saints (at Falcons)

Lutz is probably one of the best "real life" kickers in the NFL, but he's coming off of an injury that costed him the entire 2021 season, and this Saints-Falcons matchup is expected to be one of the lowest scoring affairs of the weekend (42.5 projected point total). When Lutz was a superstar fantasy kicker, Drew Brees was still running the offense, and Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara were in the thick of their primes. This offense was putrid last season, and even against Atlanta, we shouldn't expect a ton of scoring opportunities for the special teams. Fade Lutz until he proves he's back, and ready to deliver monster kicks.

Younghoe Koo, Falcons (vs. Saints)

Let's go ahead and fade both kickers from the Saints-Falcons game in what should be an ugly contest. Again, Koo is a great NFL kicker, but the Saints' strong defense against Marcus Mariota and a shaky offensive line doesn't sound like a recipe for offensive success. Would we be surprised if the Falcons rarely cross midfield? The ceiling is likely low for Koo here as the Falcons' project to have one of the worst offensive attacks in all of football.

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