No position is more unpredictable in fantasy football than kickers. Year after year after year, no position has a lower correlation between where they're drafted before the season and where they finish after the season. No position has a lower correlation between how they score in one week and how they score in the next. No position has a lower correlation between projected points and actual points.
In addition, placekicker is the position that has the smallest spread between the best players and the middle-of-the-pack players for fantasy. Finally, most fantasy owners will only carry one kicker at a time, which means there are a dozen or more starting kickers sitting around on waivers at any given time. Given all of this, it rarely makes sense to devote resources to the position. Instead, owners are best served by rotating through whichever available kicker has the best weekly matchup.
Every week, I'll rank the situations each kicker finds himself in (ignoring the talent of the kicker himself) to help you find perfectly startable production off the waiver wire.
Week 2 Results
Robbie Gould (3 FG attempts, 3 FGs, 3 XPs, 12 points)
San Francisco / Detroit might not have seemed like the most likely candidate for a shootout, but the teams combined for the third-most points of the weekend. The only "great play" from last week who was likely to be on waivers, Gould delivered with a second-place weekly finish.
Brett Maher (2 FG attempts, 2 FGs, 2 XPs, 8 points)
The Dallas Cowboys twice had to settle for field goals in the red zone, contributing to a strong game from Brett Maher, who finished tied for 6th at the position after being listed as a "good play".
Caleb Sturgis (1 FG attempt, 1 FG, 4 XPs, 7 points)
The Chargers were expected to blow out the woeful Buffalo Bills, and they delivered. Listed as a "good play", Sturgis walked away from five red zone trips with seven points, which tied him for 11th at the position.
Jason Myers (2 FG attempts, 2 FGs, 0 XPs, 6 points)
Myers fell prey to the bad weekend for kickers with a missed extra point on the Jets' lone touchdown of the day. He helped make up for it by hitting a 55-yard field goal later in the game. Projected as a "neutral play", Myers finished the week tied for 17th; with the extra point, he could have finished as high as 11th.
Cody Parkey (1 FG attempt, 1 FG, 3 XPs, 6 points)
The Bears were able to move the ball on a once-fearsome Seattle defense, and Parkey benefitted with six points, tied for 17th at the position. Listed as a "neutral play", Parkey delivered a neutral result
WEEK 3 SITUATIONS
**Since streaming kickers is so popular and ownership can vary, here is a list of how favorable every kicker's situation is based on Vegas projected totals and stadium. Quality plays who are especially likely to be on waivers are italicized and will be highlighted in next week's column.**
Great Plays:
Harrison Butker, KC
**Dan Bailey, Min
Stephen Gostkowski, NE
Matt Bryant, Atl
**Sam Ficken, LAR
Jake Elliott, Phi
Good Plays:
**Chandler Catanzaro, TB
Wil Lutz, NO
Chris Boswell, Pit
Ka'imi Fairbairn, Hou
Justin Tucker, Bal
**Cody Parkey, Chi
Neutral Plays:
Graham Gano, Car
**Jason Sanders, Mia
Matt Prater, Det
Robbie Gould, SF
Mason Crosby, GB
Poor Plays:
Brett Maher, Dal
Sebastian Janikowski, Sea
Greg Joseph, Cle
Randy Bullock, Cin
Mike Nugent, Oak
Josh Lambo, Jax
Avoid at All Costs:
Dustin Hopkins, Was
Jason Myers, NYJ
Adam Vinatieri, Ind
Caleb Sturgis, LAC
Brandon McManus, Den
Aldrick Rosas, NYG
Ryan Succop, Ten
Phil Dawson, Ari
Steven Hauschka, Buf