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It's Week 8 RotoBallers and we're obsessing over place kickers again! 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 8 lineup could be a difference maker.
We're here to give you that life changing analysis you so dearly covet, and help make your kicker start/sit and streaming decisions for Week 8. Who doesn't need a little help making those dreaded lineup decisions a bit easier, especially in the fantasy leg department?
This week we are going to narrow down our teirs to the Top 14 kickers broken down into three tiers. Some of these kickers may have good Week 8 matchups, and be available on your league’s waiver wire, so don't sleep on your chance to cash in a few extra points via the leg.
Week 8 Kickers To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings
Tier 1 NFL Kickers: Denver Broncos (Brandon McManus), Seattle Seahawks (Steven Hauschka), New England Patriots (Stephen Gostkowski), New York Giants (Josh Brown)
Brandon McManus aka 'The Big Leg On Campus' is back for Week 8 versus the Packers. This home game adds even more value to a guy that has made four out of five 50+ yarders thus far in 2015. Pay up for this game changing leg on DFS sites that use kickers as the Broncos will have to score a lot to beat Green Bay.
Steven Hauschka is the second leading fantasy kicker thus far in 2015 and goes indoors to Dallas to face a Cowboys defense that's allowing the fourth most fantasy points per game to opposing legs. Get him into your DFS mix if you want guaranteed scoring from your kicker.
Stephen Gostkowski just keeps racking up fantasy points and enters Week 8 as the NFL's leading scorer at kicker. Week 8 holds a home game on Thursday night versus the Dolphins, a team allowing the eleventh most fantasy points per week to opposing legs. He remains a must-start option for all league formats and DFS play.
Rounding out the top tier is Giants great Josh "Charlie" Brown. This guy just keeps flying under the radar and putting up some stable production. As the fourth leading scorer at kicker, we love him as high floor and high upside DFS kicker option and waiver wire streamer in Week 8 versus the Saints on the road.
Tier 2 NFL Kickers: Green Bay Packers (Mason Crosby), Dallas Cowboys (Dan Bailey), Kansas City Chiefs (Cairo Santos), San Diego Chargers (Josh Lambo), Minnesota Vikings (Blair Walsh)
Mason "Betha" Crosby takes his leg on the road for Week 8 as the Packers head to Denver for a battle of the high scoring legs. He would normally be closer to a tier one option, but the Broncos are pretty stingy versus kickers allowing only 6.5 points per game to the opposition. He can still be used in regular formats, but should be bypassed for higher ceiling DFS options in Week 8.
Dan "The Man" Bailey is as fantasy football steady as driving a brand new Lexus sedan down the highway, so don't shy away in Week 8 just because the non intimidating Seahawks defense rolls into town. Seattle still allows an average of 7.33 points per week, but we like Bailey's chances to put up between 9-11 fantasy points via the leg.
Cairo "Egypt" Santos has put together a nice 2015 campaign coming into Week 8 as the fifth leading fantasy leg in the league (just throwing in a little tongue twister to make sure you're still awake!). He can be used against the weak Lions defense with the same amount of confidence you have when leaving the bar at 4am with two drunk girlfriends who want to go back to your place for a few more rounds (wink, wink).
The Blair Walsh Project is finally making his leggy way into our tier two hearts by stepping up his game with 30 fantasy points in the past two weeks. He makes for a tremendous kicker sleeper in Week 8 versus the extremely generous Bears defense that is allowing an average of 9.33 fantasy points per game. Get him into your DFS and season long lineups for a shot in the arm.
Josh Lambo 'Aventador' had one of his worst weeks versus the Raiders in Week 7, but we still love his high floor in the Chargers powerful offense. He also faces Baltimore in Week 8, a team allowing the most fantasy points per week to opposing kickers at 12.83 per game on average. He's another great waiver wire pickup or DFS sleeper on the road versus the Ravens.
Tier 3 NFL Kickers: New York Jets (Nick Folk), Oakland Raiders (Sebastian Janikowski), Cleveland Browns (Travis Coons), Arizona Cardinals (Chandler Catanzaro), Carolina Panthers (Graham Gano)
'Sant Nick' Novak had a great Week 7 and he's earned his tier three status by being the old reliable leg we so dearly love. In Week 8 his value stays pretty high as the Jets head to the Bay Area to face the Raiders porous defense; one allowing 11.6 fantasy points per week on average to opposing kickers.
Graham "Cracker Crunch" Gano draws a friendly matchup versus the Colts in Week 8, a team allowing a healthy 9.33 fantasy points per game on average to kickers. Use his his undervalued leg in DFS play or as a season-long format streamer.
Travis Coons has been a nice surprise for the Browns in 2015 and gets the job of facing the Cardinals in Week 8. Use him confidently in this home matchup because Arizona is allowing the sixth most fantasy points per week to opposing kickers, and should continue to do so as teams need to shoot it out with them just to compete.
Also getting a good matchup in this game is Chandler 'Bing' Catanzaro who faces the Browns defense that's allowing almost nine fantasy points per week on average. Either of the two fantasy legs in this contest make for great kicker sleepers for Week 8 on FanDuel or off the waiver wire.
Last but obviously never least is our boy Seabass. In a tough matchup, Napoleon Janikowski impressed those who had the balls to employ him in Week 7 as his ever so lofty leg connected for thirteen healthy fantasy points.
Although not as impressive as his lengthy record of law enforcement run-ins, his Pro Football Focus ratings have been remarkably favorable thus far in 2015 making it sort of a renaissance campaign for the former first round draft pick and honorory celebutard.
When you need to create some room in your DFS budget, or in need of a quick sleeper streamer off the waiver wire, get the 'Polish Powder Keg' into your mix. We do however want to give you fair warning because Wałbrzych's own is facing the healthy Jets defense that only allows an average of 4.6 fantasy points per week to opposing legs.
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