Week 9 of the NFL season will see four teams off the schedule due to the bye week, which means kickers such as Riley Patterson and Brandon McManus will be out of their respective fantasy lineups. For those in need of a quick pivot option, there should be more than a few ample replacements available on the waiver wire.
Here are the best kicker pickups off the waiver wire for Week 9.
Fantasy football waiver wire: Kicker pickups for Week 9
Matt Gay, Indianapolis Colts
Rostership: 46.2% ESPN
Gay is 14/16 on field goal attempts this season and a perfect 16/16 on extra points, illustrating his reliability in fantasy. The Carolina Panthers have oddly enough been one of the more solid defenses against kickers this season, but at 1-6, the 30th-ranked Panthers scoring defense is a matchup advantage for any offensive fantasy players, including kickers.
Cameron Dicker, Los Angeles Chargers
Rostership: 36.6% ESPN
Dicker will face a New York Jets team that allowed 10.2 fantasy points per game to kickers heading into Week 8. On top of the plus-matchup, Dicker has proven to be one of the more reliable kickers this season, sporting a perfect mark on extra point attempts while making 94 percent of his career field goal attempts. If the Jets’ elite defense can hold its own in the red zone, it only opens the door for a big day from Dicker.
Kai Fairbairn, Houston Texans
Rostership: 36.5% ESPN
Prior to last week’s surprising loss to the Panthers, Fairbairn ranked fourth among kickers with an average of 10.8 fantasy points per game. The Texans kicker has missed just one field goal all season and is perfect on extra points, so he’s more than a reliable option on the regular. He’ll welcome a matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9, who have allowed the eighth-most fantasy points per game to opposing kickers.
Blake Grupe, New Orleans Saints
Rostership: 5.1% ESPN
Grupe entered Week 8 ranked ninth in fantasy points per game among kickers, and he’ll have the luxury of two straight favorable matchups indoors against the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings. New Orleans’ offense ranks just 17th in scoring, so there should be more than a few chances in the red zone where Grupe can capitalize, so long as Derek Carr and the Saints can’t find the end zone for six points.
