Week 1 Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings (2025) - Jake Bates, Matt Gay, Brandon Aubrey, Cameron Dicker, Wil Lutz, Younghoe Koo, Cam Little, more

August 28, 2025

Updated kicker fantasy football rankings for Week 1 (2025). Set winning fantasy lineups with our Week 1 kicker rankings for fantasy football leagues.

Whether you're excited to navigate the kicker position every week or not, they can and often do make the difference between winning and losing fantasy football matchups. If you're looking for the top available option right away, we have you covered with our fantasy football kicker rankings for Week 1. Use these rankings to find the top options in preseason drafts or set your Week 1 lineups.

In our Week 1 kicker rankings for fantasy football below, you'll see where key fantasy options such as Jake Bates, Matt Gay, Brandon Aubrey, Cameron Dicker, Wil Lutz, Younghoe Koo, Cam Little, and more stand for the initial slate of the 2025 NFL season.

Our kicker fantasy football rankings for Week 1 are assembled by Nick Mariano. Below the rankings, be sure to check out Nick's fantasy football outlooks for several key early-round players in 2025.

Week 1 Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings

Rankings are updated until kick-off. Be sure to bookmark our weekly PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, and Standard rankings.

2025 Fantasy Football Outlooks

Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is coming off a historically great year in which he topped 2,000 rushing yards in only 16 games. The reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year totaled 345 rushes in the regular season, adding another 91 through four postseason games. One can't blame the Eagles for riding the hot hand, as he averaged 5.8 yards per carry behind a talented offensive line. He tacked on 33 catches for 278 yards and a pair of TDs as well. Now 28 years old, Barkley has averaged 369 touches over the last three seasons when you include the '24 playoff run.

We're drafting him near the top of the first round with the hopes that endurance holds and the same unstoppable formula plays out. But it would be irresponsible to overlook the workload concerns, even if the team is largely returning the same roster. Alas, most players have a downside to be aware of, so don't overthink yourself into knots, given Barkley's elite, proven blueprint for success.

Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase enters 2025 with the same team environment that supplied a season-leading campaign last year. With a healthy Joe Burrow and no defense around, Chase led the NFL in targets (175), receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708), and receiving touchdowns (17). Constantly in shootouts or playing catch-up, Cincinnati could be found atop most passing leaderboards. This allowed Chase to put up those career numbers despite Tee Higgins scoring 10 TDs in 12 games, his second straight year with only 12 games played.

Don't buy into Higgins sapping Chase's fantasy value, however. With both on the field, Chase saw 108 targets to Higgins' 107, putting up 2.54 yards per route run compared to 2.22 without Higgins. Cincy made sizeable financial commitments to both of them this March, with Chase becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. It's a deserving payday for the superstar who typically comes off draft boards as the top pick. His RotoBaller rank accurately reflects this, as any fantasy team will be fortunate to have Chase at WR1.

Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey is healthy after a year largely lost to bilateral Achilles tendinitis and then a PCL injury to his right knee. He averaged just four yards per carry and under four yards per catch (3.8) for the first time in his career, no matter the sample size. CMC also failed to score a touchdown on his 65 total touches. The 29-year-old has now missed over half of the season in three of his last five campaigns, but the healthy 2022 and '23 were stellar (especially after the SF trade).

Last year may have been a wash, but the previous season supplied a career-best 21 total TDs with over 2,000 yards from scrimmage. Still on the right side of 30, McCaffrey is likely defined as the boom-bust pick of 2025 fantasy football drafts. Many fantasy managers stuck near the back of the first round will grab CMC with the hopes of getting a discount on a top player, as the 49ers hope the entire offense can enjoy better health.

Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is coming off the best fantasy season of his career. He scored a career-high 434.38 fantasy points and averaged 25.6 fantasy points per game. That helped him finish as the overall QB1 for the second time in his career. The other time Jackson finished as the overall QB1 was back in 2019. The two-time MVP was easily the best fantasy quarterback last season. The 28-year-old scored at least 20 fantasy points in 14 of 17 games. He threw for 4,172 yards and 41 touchdowns while running for 915 yards and four touchdowns.

As a result, Jackson will be a top quarterback option during the 2025-2026 campaign. He has finished as a top-4 fantasy quarterback in back-to-back seasons, and his rushing upside makes him the perfect target early in drafts. The former Louisville product has rushed for over 800 yards in every season he has played at least 15 games. It's safe to say that Jackson will finish toward the top of the quarterback position in fantasy once again.

Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. stood out as a rookie, logging 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns on 87 catches despite several key injuries around him. Trevor Lawrence only played 10 games, Evan Engram played in nine, while Christian Kirk's year ended after just eight contests. You have to balance the extra attention that could then be placed on Thomas with the target funnel created by having a stud running around with backups. Even with Mac Jones calling the shots down the stretch, BTJ was the No. 1 receiver during our fantasy playoffs (Weeks 15-17) with 84.6 PPR points.

That's encouraging in a vacuum, but then we're left wondering whether Lawrence would've done the same. As usual, the answer typically lives somewhere in the middle ground. We can't blindly extrapolate that WR1 run over a full season, but his big-play potential can help maximize smaller target shares. Travis Hunter could become the Chris Godwin to BTJ's Mike Evans role in Liam Coen's offense, as he's no stranger to scheming star receiver duos. It's a gamble at ADP, but we've seen clear first-round upside.

Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers crushed NFL rookie records thanks to 112 receptions, 1,194 yards, and five touchdowns. The catches were the most by any rookie ever, regardless of position, which speaks to how well the Raiders were able to scheme him right out of the gate. And now the offense will have a stable quarterback situation under Geno Smith after hoping that Gardner Minshew II, Aidan O'Connell, or Desmond Ridder could excel. The team drafted three receivers in the hopes that someone could break out alongside Jakobi Meyers.

And top 2025 pick Ashton Jeanty is a massive threat out of the backfield, so we shouldn't rely on record-breaking target attention moving forward. However, the overall potency of the offense should easily exceed that of last year and give the 6-foot-3 TE a good chance at topping five TDs. The excitement of a sophomore surge makes Bowers the first TE off the board, usually within the first 20 picks, which aligns with our RotoBaller rank.

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