Getty Matt Prater of the Detroit Lions
Welcome to Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 7 of the NFL season. Our kicker edition for this week features a kicker shunned from the city of Chicago, and another deemed a hero.
* Reminder: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em is intended to present you with the non-obvious choices for your fantasy lineup. We dig deep into player matchups, scoring trends, and other factors to best help you with your fantasy decisions. Be sure to also check out our weekly fantasy football kicker rankings to better gauge where these start-sit options compare to the rest of the options at the position.
Start-Sit [ QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | DEF | Ks]
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Kickers: Start ‘Em
Start of the Week: Zane Gonzalez at NYG
Gonzalez is the fifth-highest scoring kicker in football at the moment. He averages 10 fantasy points per game and has produced under nine points just once this season. New York has allowed 12+ fantasy points on average to kickers over the past three weeks. That includes two separate 16 point performances by opposing kickers.
Matt Bryant vs. LAR
Bryant has probably left a sour taste in people’s mouths following a missed extra point that would have tied the game at the end of regulation. Don’t let that detour you from using him in your lineups this week. The Rams allow the third-most points to kickers this year with an average of 10.17 points. Half of their opponents this season have scored at least 12 fantasy points against them.
Greg Zuerlein at ATL
Zuerlein is coming off a one-point stinker in Week 6. The almost always sure-fire kicker should regain his place atop the position hierarchy in Week 7. Atlanta has allowed an average of 11 fantasy points to kickers in three of their past four games.
Sleepers: Aldrick Rosas vs. ARI
Rosas has done essentially nothing this year. To be honest, the fact that he’s owned in 11% of Yahoo leagues is a bit head-scratching. The former Pro Bowl kicker has totaled 25 points in 2019, that’s an average of 4.16 points per game. Rosas has a chance to put up close to half of his season output in Week 7 against the Cards. Arizona has allowed the second-most points to kickers this season. All but two opponents have hit double-digits against them.
Kickers: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Cody Parkey vs. LAC
Parkey suited up for his first game as a Titan a week ago. However, due to Tennessee’s abysmal offense, Parkey didn’t get to attempt a single kick. That will likely change this week, but not by much. The Chargers allow the fifth-fewest points to the kicker position. Opposing kickers have averaged a horrid 3.6 fantasy points in five of the six games against the Bolts this season.
Eddy Pineiro vs. NO
Pineiro was a hero for just a few weeks. Injuries have lingered since his rise, but he had been fairly productive up until last week. Don’t be surprised if his mediocre numbers from Week 6 carry over into Week 7. No kicker has scored within double-digits against the Saints this season. New Orleans has also allowed just two kicks from 30+ yards through the first six weeks of play.
Buyers Beware: Matt Prater vs. MIN
Prater was a monster on Monday night, putting up 21 points and leading all kickers for Week 6. You’d be hard-pressed not to plug a guy into your lineup after a performance like that, especially since he’s averaged 14 points in four of his five games this season. However, Minnesota allows an average of less than five points per game to the kicker position. Three of their five opponents this season have failed to eclipse four fantasy points.
READ NEXT: Fantasy: Kicker Rankings Week 7