Welcome to Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em for Week 9 of the NFL season. Our kicker edition for this week features a new face in New England in line to make a positive first impression on his new team. Plus, a former all-pro kicker presented with a horrendous matchup.
* 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.
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Kickers: Start ‘Em
Start of the Week: Jason Myers vs. TB
Myers has been a stellar fantasy option over the past two weeks, averaging an impressive 11 fantasy points. Tampa Bay allows the most points to the kicker position this season. Three of the last four opponents they faced off with at the position have scored at least 12 fantasy points.
Brett Maher at NYG
Maher’s brilliant play may have been forgotten by some due to a bye in Week 8. However, the Cowboys kicker is back, riding a 14.5 point average over his last two games, and takes on a Giants team that has allowed an average of 11.7 fantasy points to kickers in three of their last four games.
Nick Folk at BAL
Mike Nugent out, Nick Folk in. It doesn’t really matter. If you’re the kicker for the Patriots and you’re not completely incompetent, you hold fantasy value. Baltimore allows the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing kickers this season and has allowed double-digit fantasy points to the position in four of their last five games.
Sleepers: Austin Seibert at DEN
While it’ll likely be hard to convince yourself to plug a kicker into your starting lineup who’s averaged less than 4.5 fantasy points over his last three games, a matchup vs. Denver may push your hand. Only the Buccaneers allow more fantasy points to kickers this season than the Broncos do. Denver’s allowed five of their last seven opponents at the position to rack up 11+ fantasy points.
Kickers: Sit ‘Em
Sit of the Week: Dustin Hopkins at BUF
Don’t let Hopkins’ double-digit fantasy outing from last week cloud the fact that he had averaged just 2.5 fantasy points for the six weeks prior. Dwayne Haskins may be making his first start for the ‘Skins and will likely struggle to get Washington in scoring range for most of the day against a strong Buffalo defense. Speaking of Buffalo, the Bills haven’t allowed a single kicker to score more than six fantasy points against them this season.
Jake Elliott vs. CHI
Elliott is a solid kicker, however, he simply does not get enough attempts to be a viable fantasy option. To better present how little Elliott has kicked the ball this season, his nine field goal attempts in 2019 are the same amount as Chase McLaughin, who’s played in just four games this season, and Ty Long, who’s predominant position is punter. Chicago surrenders the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing kickers this season and has held all but one kicker under eight fantasy points over their first seven games.
Buyers Beware: Justin Tucker vs. NE
Chances are you bit the bullet, and stashed Tucker on your bench, opting to add a second kicker during his bye week rather than cut bait with the three-time first-team All-Pro. If you were able to carry two kickers in Week 8, you may want to see if you can manage for one more week. New England has been unwelcoming to opposing kickers this season. The Pats surrender just 2.63 fantasy points to the position, the fewest average in football.
READ NEXT: Fantasy: Kicker Rankings Week 9
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Fantasy Football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Kickers: Week 9