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With it being Week 6 in the NFL, we’ve officially reached the first set of byes with the New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, and New York Jets receiving a well deserved rest. As bye weeks becoming more prevalent as the season continues, fantasy football managers will have to make tough lineup choices such as which kicker should you start.
Unlike the other positions in fantasy, kicker is one that you can switch up on a week by week case. Below we’ll be looking at a couple of defenses that you either need to pick or start and two you need to completely forget about.
Kicker Starts
Tyler Bass, Buffalo Bills vs. Tennessee Titans
The Buffalo Bills have the best scoring offense in the NFL this season, averaging a hefty 34.3 points per game this season. The Bills will be playing the Titans, who are allowing 26 points per game on defense. We could see a lot of points scored, which means we should see Bass often.
This season, Bass is 11-for-12 in field goals made and a perfect 19-for-19 in extra points made. Last week, he had eight fantasy points on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs and is projected to score 8.2 fantasy points in Week 6.
Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos vs. Las Vegas Raiders
McManus seems like an automatic start each week as the Broncos’ offense have done a good job moving the ball this season. The veteran placekicker is a perfect 11-for-11 in field goals made and 9-for-9 for extra points.
The Broncos will be going up against a Raiders’ defense that 24 points per game and letting kickers make 1.4 field goals per game. This season, McManus is averaging 9.2 fantasy points per game and is projected to score 8.4 fantasy points.
Kicker Sits
Chase McLaughlin, Cleveland Browns vs. Arizona Cardinals
The Cleveland Browns scored 42 points in last weekend’s thriller against the Los Angeles Chargers, which means McLaughlin was able to rack up some fantasy points. The Browns’ placekicker was 2-for-2 on field goals made and 4-for-4 on extra points, giving him 10 fantasy points.
It was the second time in the last three games that McLaughlin put up at least 10 or more fantasy points. On Sunday, he may struggle to reach that mark against the Cardinals, who have the sixth-best scoring defense (19 points per game) and only allowing one field goal made per game this season.
Cairo Santos, Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers
Santos had his best fantasy football performance to date, scoring 10 points against the Las Vegas Raiders. Santos was 2-for-2 on field goals made between 40-49 yards out and 2-for-2 on extra points.
On the season, the veteran kicker is 7-for-7 on field goals made and 9-for-9 on extra points made. This week, he’ll be going up against the Packers, who are only allowing 0.6 field goals made per game (best in the NFL) this season. That being said, it might best to go elsewhere as rookie quarterback Justin Fields will get his first test against the Packers.