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If your brain is still plugged in to fantasy football news and notes in December’s second week, it’s probably because you’ve locked up a playoff spot or are in the midst of a last-second push for a postseason berth.
And that might -- just maybe -- mean you’re interested in which players have the most favorable fantasy playoffs prospects, the best matchups, the good stuff. Don’t be ashamed if this interest extends to kickers. It can stay between you, me, and the billions who read this column sitting on the toilet every Tuesday afternoon.
Below are four waiver wire kickers with excellent schedules from Week 15-18. Do with this information what you will.
Brandon McManus (DEN): The Bengals (Week 15), the Raiders (Week 16), and the Chargers (Week 17) are all decent spots for McManus. The Broncos shouldn’t be overmatched against any of those teams. His Week 18 matchup against KC is less inviting, as we saw last Sunday night on NBC.
Michael Badgley (IND): Week 15 against the Patriots is ugly for the Money Badger. Besides that, his end-of-season schedule is exceedingly sweet: He gets the Cardinals in Week 16, the Raiders in Week 17, and the Jaguars in Week 18. That’s assuming Rodrigo Blankenship doesn’t retake the Colts’ starting job.
Robbie Gould (SF): Gould’s playoff schedule is among the league’s best. Hoping the 49ers get Deebo Samuel (groin) back on the field sooner rather than later, Gould should have plenty of opportunity in Week 15 against the Falcons; Week 16 against the Titans; and Week 17 against the horrid Texans. His Week 18 matchup against the Rams is not quite as inviting, but hardly a dealbreaker.
Younghoe Koo (ATL): Koo gets the Lions in Week 16 and the Saints in Week 18. Week 15 sees him go against the Niners and Week 17 has the Falcons playing Buffalo. Those matchups aren’t fantastic but Koo should be serviceable in Week 16 and Week 18, if one believes the Atlanta offense can be halfway functional.
Week 13 Results
Jake Elliott (PHI) at NYJ
3/3 field goals
17 fantasy points
Rank: 1st
Michael Badgley (IND) at HOU
1/1 field goals
7 fantasy points
Rank: t-12th
Robbie Gould (SF) at SEA
1/1 field goals
7 fantasy points
Rank: t-12th
Evan McPherson (CIN) vs. LAC
1/1 field goals
5 fantasy points
Rank: t-20th
Now for your weekly kicker notes…
-Ryan Succop has a weirdly extra point-based fantasy floor. He leads the league by a good margin with 47 extra point attempts, making 44 of them in service of the Tampa Touchdown Machine. Succop’s 19 field goal tries is the eighth fewest in the NFL, however. You’ll probably get 5-7 points if you start Succop this week against Buffalo. The Bills, after all, are giving up a whopping 2.6 field goal tries per game in losses this year. Tampa is a three-point favorite.
-Mason Crosby, as per usual, is a process play in Week 14. Green Bay is at home, favored by 12.5 points over the Bears. Only KC has a higher implied total than the Packers. Maybe the Croz is over his struggles after making three of four field goals in Week 12 against the Rams. Maybe not. While I’d prefer the streamers, Crosby makes for a sensible desperation play if you can stomach it.
-The Jets have moved on to yet another kicker after Matt Ammendola blew not one, but two extra points in the Jets’ Week 13 loss to the Eagles. After the second miss, Ammendola hung his head like a man who knew he was out of a job. Eddy Pineiro will kick for the Jets in Week 14 in case you’re in a two-kicker league.
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Plug-and-Play Starter
Harrison Butker (KC) vs. LV: The Chiefs are 9.5-point favorites against the fading Raiders, sporting the week’s highest total (29). Butker, with multiple attempts in seven of his past eight games as Andy Reid becomes more conservative than Edmund Burke, is once again a top fantasy option. He’s fantasy’s sixth highest scoring kicker over the past five weeks. Kansas City is 6.5 field goal tries under expectation through Week 13, a number that has shrunk considerably since the beginning of November.
Matt Prater (ARI) vs. LAR: Kyler Murray back under center means Prater is again an elite fantasy play every week. The Cards are slight home favorites here. Both kickers should be just fine in what could be a back-and-forth affair.
Matt Gay (LAR) at ARI: Yes, I’m plugging and playing Gay despite the Rams being three-point road dogs against Arizona. In a 17-point Week 4 loss to the Cardinals, Gay made two of his three attempts. LA is 0.42 field goal attempts below expectation in 2021.
Greg Joseph (MIN) vs. PIT: Joseph is just barely preferable to the streamers, as the Vikings are 3.5-point home favorites on Thursday night. Both the Steelers and Vikings defenses are top-five in expected points added (EPA) per play since Week 8. Translation: Both of these defenses stink. Joseph -- and Chris Boswell, maybe -- could benefit.
Greg Zuerlein (DAL) at WFT: That Zuerlein has 21 field goal tries and is still 5.09 attempts under expectation is wild. He remains a plug-and-play option with the Cowboys as four-point favorites against the Football Team. Washington has allowed multiple field goal tries in four of their six losses this year.
Tyler Bass (BUF) at TB: The Bills are underdogs for the first time this season. It’s hardly the best spot for Bass but I don’t think you can bench him for a streaming option unless you’re convinced the Buffalo offense is collapsing on itself and can no longer support an every-week fantasy kicker. I can’t convince myself of that -- yet. If you think the Bills can beat the Bucs, Bass could be in for a solid day. Tampa is allowing 2.66 field goal attempts per game in losses.
Justin Tucker (BAL) at CLE: Things are dicey for Tucker this week. The Ravens are road underdogs, facing a Cleveland team allowing the second fewest field goal attempts (15) on the season. I am aware Tucker made three field goals when these teams met in Week 12. Tucker -- attached to a stagnant Baltimore offense -- shouldn’t be regarded as a must-play in a terrible fantasy environment (Browns-Ravens has the second lowest total of the week). Still, you could do worse.
Week 14 Streaming Options
Brandon McManus (DEN) vs. DET (25 percent rostered)
McManus, aka McGoatus, has had a topsy turvy 2021 season, rising and falling with the fortunes of his up-and-down team. In six wins, McManus has averaged a sturdy 2.5 field goal attempts per game. In Denver’s six losses, he’s averaged a meager 1.16 field goal tries. It’s hardly shocking: The kicker process is centered on finding kickers whose teams will have game script on their side.
McManus should have that going for him in Week 14 against Detroit, which is nice. The Broncos are 8.5 point home favorites against the feisty Lions. Their 24.75-point implied total is the eighth highest of Week 14. At worst, McManus should get all the neutral game script he can handle. The Lions through Week 13 are allowing the most field goal tries in the league.
The Lions, despite their scrappiness and Week 13 upset of the Vikings, are a defensive pushover. Only the Jaguars, Jets, and Football Team allow a higher expected points added (EPA) per play than Detroit. Denver’s ascendant running attack should have no issue matriculating the ball downfield against the Lions. Another factor helping McManus in a sweet matchup: The uber-safe Vic Fangio is the fourth most conservative coach on fourth downs. Vic loves him a field goal in the red zone, evidenced by McManus’ 12 attempts of inside 40 yards.
The Broncos are 2.55 field goal attempts below expectation this year.
Jason Myers (SEA) at HOU (10 percent rostered)
That Myers is rostered in one in team leagues on a Seahawks team dead last in field goal tries feels like a personal attack. Anyone rostering Myers is trolling me hard. I’m triggered.
The Seahawks stink. So do the Texans. But the Seahawks are the ones favored by 7.5 points and have an implied total of 25, so we’re rolling with Myers. The Jets are the only team allowing more red zone possessions than the Texans this season (4.2 per game). How has Houston limited opponents to 18 field goal tries on the season? Teams have an exceedingly easy time punching it into the end zone against the Texans. Nearly 64 percent of red zone possessions against Houston end in touchdowns, the tenth highest rate on the season.
Myers is purely a process play. Pete Carroll’s insanely conservative fourth down decision making should be in our favor. Only the Bucs and Patriots are more conservative than Seattle on fourth down this season. The Seabags are 4.68 field goal attempts under expectation this year.
Randy Bullock (TEN) vs. JAC (6 percent rostered)
I considered not writing up Bullock as a legit Week 14 streaming play, but the process compelled me, as is its wont. Bullock, who has zero or one field goal try in four of his past five games, must be considered among the week’s best non-elite options.
The Titans are at home, favored by 8.5 points over a Jacksonville team allowing the seventh most field goal attempts through Week 13. Ten of 13 kickers to face the Jags this season have logged multiple attempts. Bullock, unfortunately, was one of the unlucky three: In Week 5, when Tennessee put up 37 points against the Jaguars, Bullock managed a single field goal and seven fantasy points. Nevertheless, we persist.
The Derrick Henry-less Titans are floundering. Their offense -- designed around the Big Dog -- is hardly able to move the ball, even against middling defenses. It seems like a stretch to project the Titans -- coming off their bye week -- to roast the Jaguars this week. Even so, Bullock should get a shot at a decent day against a defense allowing 3.7 red zone possessions per game, the seventh highest mark in the league.
The Titans are 4.19 field goal tries under expectation. I’d prefer McGoatus over Bullock.
