Week 1 Kicker Streamers and Starts - 2026 Fantasy Tiers, Rankings

August 29, 2026

John looks at all 2025 fantasy football Week 1 kickers -- streamers, starts, sits, targets, avoids, and waiver wire pickups. Our Week 1 rankings and tiers for all of the NFL kickers.

Kickers are a great way to add randomness to fantasy football. It helps give inexperienced players a leg up against those who may or may not spend far too much time obsessing over the game.

They're not for everyone, but it can be interesting to look at another dimension of maximizing your point totals every week. At the running back, wide receiver, and quarterback positions, scoring is largely dominated by a handful of top-tier elite players.

However, kicker fantasy scoring is much more dependent on unpredictable things, like how many drives stall out in the red zone, weather conditions, overall offensive performance, and more. So let's dive into kicker rankings and sleepers and avoids for Week 1 fantasy football in 2026!

Week 1 Kicker Rankings for Fantasy Football

Kicker Streamers to Target for Week 1

Only players rostered in fewer than 60% of fantasy football leagues are considered streamers. 

Cairo Santos (CHI) at Carolina Panthers
2% Rostered on Sleeper

Santos is on one of the NFL's better offenses that could improve even further in 2026, so scoring opportunities should come aplenty. Last season, Santos was one of the better kickers in fantasy football on a points-per-game basis.

The Bears defense looks like it will continue to underperform, with Chicago's head coach Ben Johnson alluding to the desire to blow out opponents by putting up huge point totals on offense. Higher-scoring offenses always benefit their players in fantasy.

Ben Johnson: “I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever… I want shutouts, I want blowouts.” @getnickwright weighs in:

“This is who he’s always been. He has always, at every opportunity, wanted to be, if not the lead actor, the co-star of his team’s offensive movies.” pic.twitter.com/qcyuAU2R0A

— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) August 12, 2026

With wide receiver Luther Burden III and tight end Colston Loveland entering their second year in Johnson's offense, perhaps they can do more to overcome quarterback Caleb Williams' poor accuracy.

Santos missed five of his 30 field goal attempts last season, but against the lowly Carolina Panthers in Week 1, we could see him get a ton of opportunities. If Johnson's wish comes true, they'll crush the worst cat team in the NFL, and he should end up with 10 or more fantasy points.

Chase McLaughlin (TB) at Cincinnati Bengals
25% Rostered on Sleeper

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers struggled on offense down the stretch last season. That was likely due to quarterback Baker Mayfield struggling with multiple serious injuries, though. They also lost WR Chris Godwin to injury, and WR Emeka Egbuka's play was severely diminished after his hamstring ailment.

The team appears to be back to full health, and while WR Mike Evans (groin) is on another team, they have the core present for a high-powered offense. This should benefit McLaughlin. Evans was an elite red zone weapon, so perhaps the Bucs might struggle to punch it in for touchdowns at times.

Chase McLaughlin wins it for the @Buccaneers! pic.twitter.com/H7E2aFH4Rk

— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025

McLaughlin is an accurate kicker and has a strong leg. Tampa Bay also doesn't have a big, powerful running back that's able to punch it in for touchdowns at the goal line. An offense struggling in the red zone but moving the ball effectively in other areas of the field is exactly what a kicker wants for fantasy football.

The Bengals defense is extremely porous. Expect plenty of yards from Tampa Bay, and at least four field goal attempts from their kicker to go along with a few extra point tries.

Harrison Mevis (LAR) vs. San Francisco 49ers
0% Rostered on Sleeper

Following suit with the previous two kicker sleepers, we have Mevis, who plays for one of the NFL's best offenses in the Los Angeles Rams and will be facing a team with a defense that's been decimated by injuries. The San Francisco 49ers, as usual, are missing multiple starters with various ailments.

Their team seemed to destroy itself with injuries before the season has even begun. Then again, maybe it's the nearby electrical substation. At any rate, Los Angeles should be able to move the ball well against their divisional rival.

Harrison Mevis puts the @RamsNFL back up 3️⃣

LARvsCAR on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/iqcvL6PgeL

— NFL (@NFL) January 10, 2026

He didn't play in every game last season, but he did make 12 of his 13 field goal attempts, with six of them coming from 40 or more yards out. He also made all 39 of his extra point attempts. Across nine games, those are impressive numbers.

Kickers to Avoid for Week 1

Will Reichard (MIN) vs. Green Bay Packers
12% Rostered on Sleeper

The Vikings offense was simply putrid last season, with quarterback J.J. McCarthy struggling mightily in his first year. He's on the bench now, though, and in his place, another QB who's struggled in recent years will get the start.

Quarterback Kyler Murray will play in his first game in a brand new offense. In recent seasons, Minnesota's offensive line has struggled. They're healthier now, but there are too many unknowns for me to trust Reichard here, at least initially.

Kyler Murray danced in the pocket for 6 seconds and somehow NEVER SAW A WIDE OPEN MARVIN HARRISON JR FOR A GAME-CHANGING TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/HG5ysapKB8

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 8, 2024

My analysis indicates there will be rough patches to start the season for Minnesota on offense, and it's questionable if they ever have a consistent rushing or passing attack. Murray will be nice for fantasy football thanks to his rushing upside, but that doesn't help his kicker much.

Harrison Butker (KC) vs. Denver Broncos
76% Rostered on Sleeper

Butker set a career-low in field goal accuracy in 2025, converting 86.8 percent of his field goal attempts and missing four of his 35 extra point attempts. Those aren't horrible numbers, but they show that he could be beginning a regression in his ability to convert kicks.

Additionally, the Chiefs offense in 2025 was just a shell of what it was in previous seasons. Ever since wide receiver Tyreek Hill left, Kansas City's offensive attack has declined each season. Butker subsequently went from one of the best fantasy football kickers to one that you have to think twice about starting.

Eric Bieniemy on the current state of the #Chiefs offense:

“Last week's performance wasn't ideally our best... we're not where we need to be... but these practices we've had these past few days, the guys have stepped up, they've accepted the challenge, and they understand what… pic.twitter.com/xrNZ8erJOR

— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) August 18, 2026

Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy seems to be aware of the situation. As are we. Their receiving corps consists of a 36-year-old tight end, a PPR-scam wide receiver coming off of a knee injury, a late-round draft pick rookie, and a bunch of unproductive wideouts.

Against the Denver Broncos defense, which is one of the best in the league, the Chiefs will likely struggle to move the ball. Their offensive line has played mediocre at best in recent seasons, and their starting quarterback, Patrick Mahomes II, tore his ACL late last season.

The glue holding the Chiefs papier-mache offense together was Mahomes' high rush rate. That's not likely to continue, as he'll need more time to recover from the injury and should be more cautious to avoid further damaging his knee.

Tyler Bass (BUF) vs. Houston Texans
19% Rostered on Sleeper

Bass made a habit of absolutely terrible misses during the 2024 season. He suffered a pelvic injury that rendered him unable to play for all of 2025, but is returning as the Bills' starting kicker for 2026. Their first game will be against the vicious Houston Texans defense.

It's not a great matchup. The Texans are elite in both the secondary and along the defensive line, and have solid linebackers as well. Buffalo's high-powered offense will meet its match. Bass is likely to be quite rusty, so don't be surprised to see him miss at least one field goal, too. He missed a field goal in the preseason game against the Panthers, too.

The Korean call of the Tyler Bass miss is awesome pic.twitter.com/wSWhxQ6yUd

— Laterals (@LateralsIG) January 23, 2024

At least waiting to see if his accuracy woes are behind him before shoving him into your starting lineup is probably a good idea.

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