October 25, 2016

Jacob Valov's Week 8 tiered rankings & streamers for all NFL kickers. Fantasy football starts, sits, and waiver wire pickups for week seven of the 2016 season.

It’s Week 8 and it’s once again time for kicker rankings! This list is here to help all of us figure out who’s gonna kick for our teams this week, and making those streaming or start/sit decisions easier.

While finding a good FLEX and starting the right QB are crucial to winning your matchups, anyone who’s worth their salt will tell you the true X-factor in fantasy matchups can be the kicker.

Picking the right guy could net you 10 extra points any given Sunday, clinching you a victory, frustrating your opponents, and making you seem like a god amongst men - for you have proven to be the true Prophet of Special Teams. So buckle up buckaroos, things are bound to get wild as we dive into the mysterious world of kicker rankings...

Editor's Note: Once you're done here, be sure to read about even more Week 8 waiver wire recommendations, for all fantasy-relevant positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB - CUTS

Week 8 Kickers To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings

Tier 1 NFL Kickers

1. Stephen Gostkowski (@ BUF)
2. Josh Lambo (@ DEN)
3. Adam Vinatieri (vs KC)
4. Cairo Santos (@ IND)
5. Steven Hauschka (@ NO)

JOSH LAMBO IS QUITE SIMPLY THE GREATEST KICKER EVER. IF YOU DON’T HAVE HIM AND THEREFORE CAN’T START HIM, I’M SORRY. IF HE IS ON WAIVERS, HE’S WORTH USING NUMBER ONE WAIVER PRIORITY; LAMBO SINGLE HANDEDLY BEAT THE FALCONS AND THE HYPE TRAIN ISN’T STOPPING ANYTIME SOON. LAMBO FOR PRESIDENT.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “If these kicker rankings are influenced by hype trains, why don’t they work the other way??? Hauschka missed a chip shot field goal to win the game Sunday night, shouldn’t he be punished???” Your argument is valid, but unlike Chandler Catanzaro (see: way way way down in the rankings), Hoosh-Money isn’t gonna let one mistake keep him down. Against a porous New Orleans defense the ‘hawks’ offense should have no problem getting back on track, and against Drew Brees in the dome - they better. Hauschka is going to have plenty of opportunities to right the metaphorical ship, and he’ll do just that. Expect more XPs than field goals, however.

Tier 2 NFL Kickers

6. Blair Walsh (@ CHI)
7. Dustin Hopkins (@ CIN)
8. Mike Nugent (vs WAS)
9. Dan Bailey (vs PHI)
10. Matt Bryant (vs GB)
11. Nick Folk (@ CLE)

Another kicker coming off a poor week, however this one due to everyone else around him, is Blair Walsh. The Eagles defense finally rattled Bradford and the Vikings committed their first turnovers of the season, leading to their first loss. The good news is, the Bears don’t have half the defense the Eagles do. With Jay Cutler’s status still up in the air, the Vikings defense should absolutely terrorize the poor Bears, giving their offense great field position time and time again. Walsh should be the clear beneficiary and walk away a winner once again.

The Jets are a hot mess, but after coming back in incredible fashion against the Ravens, the offense’s hot streak should continue as they head to play the still defeated Browns. With Kessler in concussion protocol, Kevin Hogan may get the start once again, making the mouths of Jets defenders water. Even if they can’t keep their head of steam going, the Browns are still the Browns and let teams score at will. Folk is a solid option across the board.

Tier 3 NFL Kickers

12. Graham Gano (vs ARI)
13. Chandler Catanzaro (@ CAR)
14. Caleb Sturgis (@ DAL)
15. Ryan Succop (vs JAX)
16. Roberto Aguayo (vs OAK)

Poor Chandler. He tried his best, he scored all of Arizona’s points the entire game, but when it came down to it, he choked. Unlike his counterpart Steven Hauschka, however, Catanzaro just doesn’t strike me as a mentally tough person. I see this performance continuing to affect his play heading into Carolina this weekend, however not enough to completely destroy his fantasy value. The Panthers still can’t figure out how to do much of anything on either side of the ball and the Cardinals offense should have no problem exploiting their young corners, so Catanzaro will still get his. My prediction: no missed field goals, but a missed XP.

Another kicker jumps up the rankings this week due to playing Oakland - Roberto Aguayo. Last week, as predicted, Jason Myers had a solid outing, and could have done much better if the Jaguars weren’t a hot mess on offense (Blake Bortles… What happened???). The Bucs, luckily, don’t share their Floridian brethren’s offensive woes: Mike Evans put on a show against SF and Jacquizz Rodgers is playing far, far better than any old man should. With the Raiders defense still working on getting itself right, the Bucs should cruise up and down the field, giving Aguayo lots of opportunities.

Tier 4 NFL Kickers

15. Sebastian Janikowski (@ TB)
16. Mason Crosby (@ ATL)
17. Wil Lutz (vs SEA)
18. Nick Novak (vs DET)

The Raiders offense has been struggling as of late, and unless they can get back to the levels they were playing at the first few weeks, Seabass may be needed more often than they’d like. While another 4 FG game is highly unlikely, 2 or 3 is completely reasonable, as Raiders drives seem to stall out more often than not these days.

Tier 5 NFL Kickers

21. Brandon McManus (vs SD)
22. Matt Prater (@ HOU)
23. Dan Carpenter (vs NE)
24. Jason Myers (@ TEN)