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RotoBaller's updated Week 1 kicker (K) rankings for fantasy football in 2026. Read the weekend updates for our fantasy football K rankings and win more.
While most leagues are starting to ban kickers and replace them with a FLEX position, there are still plenty of fantasy football leagues that utilize a kicker in their starting lineups. Except for Brandon Aubrey, fantasy managers will stream kickers week to week. For managers who start a kicker, we break it down for you with our updated Week 1 kicker rankings for 2026. Find out where kickers such as Evan McPherson, Will Reichard, Cam Little, Tyler Loop, Chris Boswell, and Trey Smack are ranked in Week 1.
Our kicker fantasy football rankings for Week 1 are put together by Nick Mariano. In addition to his rankings, below you will also find a summary of the important fantasy football injury news for this week. Key injuries are always in play, so be sure to check back until kickoff.
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Week 1 Kicker Rankings for Fantasy Football
Be sure to bookmark our weekly PPR rankings, Half-PPR rankings, Standard rankings.
| Kicker Tier |
Kicker Rank |
Kicker Name |
Pos |
| 1 | 1 | Brandon Aubrey | K |
| 1 | 2 | Cameron Dicker | K |
| 1 | 3 | Jake Bates | K |
| 1 | 4 | Cam Little | K |
| 2 | 5 | Tyler Loop | K |
| 2 | 6 | Evan McPherson | K |
| 3 | 7 | Harrison Mevis | K |
| 3 | 8 | Chase McLaughlin | K |
| 3 | 9 | Cairo Santos | K |
| 3 | 10 | Ka'imi Fairbairn | K |
| 4 | 11 | Jason Myers | K |
| 4 | 12 | Will Reichard | K |
| 4 | 13 | Eddy Pineiro | K |
| 4 | 14 | Chris Boswell | K |
| 4 | 15 | Spencer Shrader | K |
| 5 | 16 | Jake Elliott | K |
| 5 | 17 | Trey Smack | K |
| 5 | 18 | Wil Lutz | K |
| 5 | 19 | Daniel Carlson | K |
| 5 | 20 | Tyler Bass | K |
| 5 | 21 | Harrison Butker | K |
| 5 | 22 | Andy Borregales | K |
| 6 | 23 | Riley Patterson | K |
| 6 | 24 | Joey Slye | K |
| 6 | 25 | Matt Gay | K |
| 6 | 26 | Ryan Fitzgerald | K |
| 6 | 27 | Nick Folk | K |
| 7 | 28 | Drew Stevens | K |
| 7 | 29 | Chad Ryland | K |
| 7 | 30 | Dominic Zvada | K |
| 7 | 31 | Jason Sanders | K |
| 7 | 32 | Andre Szmyt | K |
Week 1 Kicker Outlooks for Fantasy Football
Ka'imi Fairbairn, Houston Texans
Houston Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn was one of the best fantasy kickers in the NFL last season, taking advantage of his team's red-zone struggles to kick plenty of field goals. He made 44 of his 48 field-goal attempts over 15 games and went a perfect 28-for-28 on extra points. He was excellent from long range as well, going 9-for-13 from over 50 yards. This offseason, Houston locked up the 32-year-old from Hawaii with a two-year, $13 million extension.
While the offense hopes to be more efficient in the red zone this season, especially after adding David Montgomery, Fairbairn remains a very strong option at the position. In Week 1's home matchup against the Bills, Fairbairn is the No. 10 kicker in RotoBaller's rankings, and he's a solid, reliable start in almost all formats.
Trey Smack, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers kicker Trey Smack looks to start his career off on the right foot as the team heads to Minneapolis to take on the Vikings in the season opener for both teams. Smack, Green Bay's sixth-round pick in last April's NFL Draft, was a perfect 9-of-9 on field goals during the preseason, with a long of 59 yards. He also booted home all seven extra points and looked every bit like a kicker that has some staying power for the Packers.
Of course, kicking in actual games that count is a different story entirely, but Smack seems up to the task. With the Packers being an above-average offense, Smack should get plenty of chances to score points, so for that, he's in the streaming conversation for fantasy kickers against Minnesota in Week 1.
Will Reichard, Minnesota Vikings
Coming off a season in which he was named a first-team All-Pro selection, kicker Will Reichard is a starting candidate when the Minnesota Vikings open the season against Green Bay in Week 1. The Alabama product was outstanding in 2025, making all 31 of his extra points and 33 of 35 field goal attempts, including all 22 attempts from inside 50 yards. Even better for managers, the Vikings' offense should be more competent in 2026 with the addition of quarterback Kyler Murray.
The third-year kicker will also play 11 of his 17 games this season indoors, starting with Sunday's contest at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Reichard is RotoBaller's 12th-ranked kicker in Week 1, but if he continues his form from last year, he'll certainly be in the mix to be a plug-and-play starter this season.
Chase McLaughlin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin is attempting to kick his way into an extension this season. The 30-year-old is entering a contract year after spending each of the last three seasons in Tampa Bay. The past two seasons, McLaughlin has finished as a top-10 player at his position. Last year, McLaughlin struggled a bit more than in past seasons, connecting on 32-of-38 field goal attempts. He only missed one extra point attempt in 2025.
McLaughlin has been a mostly reliable kicker, and the Bucs have a favorable matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals defense in Week 1. This should be a high-scoring game, which should give McLaughlin plenty of work. Fantasy managers who are seeking a streaming option for Week 1 should consider adding McLaughlin.
Tyler Loop, Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop is looking to start fresh in Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts after his devastating missed 44-yard field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 18, which ended the Ravens' playoff hopes and 2025 season. He ended his rookie year connecting on 30-of-34 field goal attempts (88.2%) and 44-of-46 (95.7%) point-after tries, but only made one of four field goals beyond 50 yards.
During the preseason, Loop made five of his eight field goal attempts and drilled all nine of his extra points, but again struggled beyond 50 yards, going just one for three. Therefore, Loop is far from automatic or a set-it-and-forget-it starter. Still, he will be kicking in a controlled environment at Lucas Oil Stadium, which gives him a slight edge over other kickers subject to winds and weather this weekend. Most importantly, Loop is kicking for a high-powered offense, which gives him enough opportunities through extra points and mid-range field goals to have sufficient upside to make fantasy starting lineups in Week 1.
Evan McPherson, Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. McPherson knocked through a career-high 89.3% of his field goal attempts in 2025 and made 41 of his 44 PATs. The Bengals kicker was perfect through the preseason, nailing all of his kicks, and should be locked in for a heavy workload. McPherson should be among the league leaders in PATs considering that Cincinnati is projected to be a top-tier scoring offense again this season.
McPherson should be in line for a lot of attempts against the Buccaneers in a game with the highest over/under of the week. McPherson is ranked K7 in our RotoBaller Week 1 rankings, making him a strong option to start at kicker this week. Fantasy managers should be interested in McPherson's prospects this season, as he should be relied on often in a high-scoring offense.
Who Should I Start Tool
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Week 1 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: Evan McPherson, Will Reichard, Cam Little, Chase McLaughlin, Chris Boswell, Tyler Loop, Kai'imi Fairbairn, and Trey Smack. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 1.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circle), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 1 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 1 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 1 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 1 for Evan McPherson, Will Reichard, Cam Little, Chase McLaughlin, Chris Boswell, Tyler Loop, Kai'imi Fairbairn, and Trey Smack:
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