NFL Kickers to Start in Week 12: Fantasy Football Tiers & Rankings

November 18, 2014

Real Talk Raph analyzes NFL kickers (K) to start or sit in Week 12, and provides rankings & tiers for all fantasy football kickers. Start the right kicker in fantasy football and grab one off the waiver wire if needed.

Yes, that’s right – kickers. After all, points are points, and even though kickers are very difficult to predict for fantasy points week to week, having the right one in your Week 12 lineup could be a difference maker.

For those of you fantasy football owners out there who are streaming kickers, RotoBaller has got you covered with around-the-league analysis of the Week 12 NFL matchups.  This week shouldn't be as big an issue with bye weeks, unlike last week, meaning there should be plenty of viable waiver wire streamers and sleepers available.

We’re here to give you our analysis to help make your kicker streaming decisions and make your Week 12 lineup decisions a bit easier. Some of these kickers may have good Week 12 matchups, and be available on your league’s waiver wire. Be sure to stay on top of the weekly NFL matchups and kicker opponents right here. Good luck RotoBallers!

Teams that have bye weeks in Week 12: Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers

Week 12 Kickers: Tiers & Rankings

Tier 1 NFL Kickers: Indianapolis Colts (Adam Vinatieri), New England Patriots (Stephen Gostowski), Philadelphia Eagles (Cody Parkey), Dallas Cowboys (Dan Bailey), Baltimore Ravens (Justin Tucker)

The Jaguars are the third worst team in the NFL against fantasy kickers allowing 10.40 points per game; thereby making former Patriots great Adam "The Living Legend" Vinatieri the top option for Week 12 and beyond. Up next in his familiar top tier is current Patriots great "Even" Stephen Gostowski who surprisingly doesn't quite rate out as a top 10 kicker based on Pro Football Focus. He does however lead the NFL in kicking points and plays for one of it's top offenses, and that makes him a must start each and every week.

Rookie phenom and RotoBaller favorite Cody "Hit It Out The" Parkey is the third leading scorer among kickers and draws the Tennesse Titans 10th worst defense against fantasy kickers, allowing 9.11 points per game to the opposition. Dan "The Man" Bailey is a tier one place kicker because he's just damn good, but also because he faces the division rival G-Men in Week 12 who allow an average of 9.22 fantasy points per contest to opposing legs. The icing on the tier one kicker cake is the undervalued Justin Tucker, who grades out as the 4th best kicker in the league based on Pro Football Focus. He also draws the horrific Saints defense that allows 9.67 fantasy points per game to kickers, good for 6th worst in the NFL. This all renders him a must start option for Week 12 and beyond.

Tier 2 NFL Kickers: San Diego Chargers (Nick Novak), Buffalo Bills (Dan Carpenter), Kansas City Chiefs (Cairo Santos), Cleveland Browns (Billy Cundiff), Miami Dolphins (Caleb Sturgis), Houston Texans (Randy Bullock)

Nick "The Kick" Novak has an amazing nickname and a pretty good matchup for Week 12 versus the Rams. St. Louis gives up an average of 8.89 fantasy points per game to opposing kickers, good for 12th worst in the league. Former Dolphins great Dan Carpenter is the 7th leading scorer among kickers and draws the Jets junky defensive unit in Week 12. With Gang Green giving up an average of 8.60 fantasy points per game to kickers, we love "The Big Carp" as a top tier 2 option. Cairo Santos isn't an every week option, but feel free to stream him in for Week 12 versus the Raiders defense that allows an average of 10.22 fantasy points per game to kickers.

William Ambrose Cundiff is near the bottom of league scoring for kickers, but grades out as a top 10 kicker based on Pro Football Focus and draws the Falcons 5th worst defense versus kickers in Week 12. Caleb Sturgis comes in as the 4th leading scorer among NFL legs and draws the Denver Broncos in Week 12. We foresee a bunch of field goal opportunities against a team that allows an average of 7.0 points per game to fantasy kickers. Texas great Randy Bullock draws the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12, a team allowing an average of 9.11 fantasy points per game to opposing legs. That makes this middle of the road option a strong waiver wire pickup for Week 12.

Tier 3 NFL Kickers: Arizona Cardinals (Chandler Catanzaro), San Francisco (Phil Dawson),  Cincinnati Bengals (Mike Nugent), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Patrick Murray), New York Jets (Nick Folk), Green Bay Packers (Mason Crosby), Chicago Bears (Robbie Gould)

Chandler "Bing" Catanzaro pooped the new mattress in Week 11 versus the Lions, but Week 12 holds better potential for the rookie as he faces the Eagles in what should be a pretty high scoring event. Phil "Your DFS Wallet" Dawson has a great matchup versus the lowly Redskins who are allowing an average of 7.89 fantasy points per contest to opposing kickers. Use him with pretty good confidence in Week 12. Former Jets great Mike Nugent is not an every week option and is probably best left on the waiver wire for Week 12 versus the very strong Houston Texans defense. Patty Murray and the Bucs get to face "Da Bears" on the windy and cold road in Week 12. We absolutely love this kicker waiver wire pickup because Chicago allows the most point in the NFL to opposing fantasy kickers, a ridiculous 11.56 points per game average.

"Saint Nick" Folk and the Junky Jets get to face the Bills defense that's allowing a high 9.00 points per game to opposing kickers. Most weeks we'd find him to be a non serviceable option, but there is chance he can provide some pop from the kicker slot if you need a flukey option in a desperation play. Mason "Betha" Crosby is always a pretty reliable fantasy leg and should be started pretty much every week as long as Green Bay is pummeling opponents and scoring more points than an NBA team. As for Robert Gould, we kinda like this lowly veteran for a Week 12 streamer because he faces the atrocious Buccaneers defense that is bleeding out 10.78 fantasy points per game to opposing kickers. Use him at your risk, but he can easily perform like a tier 1-2 option in Week 12 of action.

 
Tier 4 NFL Kickers: Denver Broncos (Brandon McManus), Seattle Seahawks (Steven Hauschka), New Orleans Saints (Shayne Graham), Minnesota Vikings (Blair Walsh), Washington Redskins (Kai Forbath), Atlanta Falcons (Matt Bryant) 

Brandon "Not The" McManus  barely scores any points that aren't extra points and also draws a very tough matchup versus the suffocating Dolphins defense. Keep this Bronco in the stable for Week 12 of action. Steven Hauschka is once again a top 10 scorer among kickers, but he faces the very stingy Cardinals defense in Week 12. He can be benched for a better streaming option if you are desperate for a fantasy win and need the few extra projected points from a more favorable matchup.

Shayne "On You" Graham gets almost no field goal attempts and should be off your fantasy football radar almost every week. He also draws the intimidating Ravens defense in Week 12 that is only allowing 6.10 fantasy points per game to opposing kickers. The Vikings have a good rated kicker in Blair Walsh, but he draws a bad matchup in Week 12 versus the Packers, so let's bypass this youngster. Kai Forbath is one of the worst kicker options in fantasy football and should continue riding the pine in Week 12 versus the harsh 49ers defense that only allows 6.22 fantasy points per game to opposing kickers. Lastly, Falcons veteran Matt Bryant draws an indoor home matchup versus the Browns surprisingly strong defense. Leave him benched against a team that only allows an average of 6.89 fantasy points per week to opposing kickers.

Tier 5 NFL Kickers: Detroit Lions (Matt Prater), Tennessee Titans (Ryan Succop),  New York Giants (Josh Brown), St. Louis Rams (Greg Zuerlein), Jacksonville Jaguars (Josh Scobee), Oakland Raiders (Sebastian Janikowski)

Matt Prater leaves his coaching staff and fantasy owners sweating out routine field goals each with every attempt and should probably be left on the waiver wire for a better option in Week 12. That being said, he faces the Patriots at his home stadium and should get some long attempts. Ryan Succop is just kinda there and nobody ever thinks twice about using him in their fantasy football lineups; Week 12 is much of the same for the rather uninspiring option facing the stout Eagles defense. Yosi Brown is literally the worst option for Week 12 of action because he is facing the best defense in the NFL against fantasy kickers, the well-rested Dallas Cowboys. Keep the Giants great on the bench for Week 12 and beyond (if you're trying to win of course). Greg "The Leg" Zuerlein draws the second toughest team in the NFL versus fantasy kickers in Week 12, the San Diego Chargers. Regardless of the matchup, we advise keeping Legatron perma-benched unless of course you know something about him that we don't know yet (i.e. sophisticated new HGH regimen that allows him to hit 72 yard field goals). Josh Scobee is arguably on the worst team in the NFL and is at the bottom of the kicker scoring list. It doesn't matter who you use every week, just don't ever think about using this guy.

And finally, we get to good old Sebastian Janikowski who actually gets a pretty fair matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. Although they allow an average of 8.22 fantasy points per contest to opposing legs, the Oakland Raiders best offensive weapon simply doesn't get enough opportunities to be a consistent fantasy contributor each and every week. Aside from that fact, the Polish Powder Keg  is also the litmus test that identifies the Raiders as the worst run franchise in the entire league; cemented by giving an aging kicker big contract after big contract when they can barely run the football or protect their quarterback. Although we have no links to adult film stars he's defiled, or current police blotter reports, we assure you this bad boy will be back to his degenerate ways soon enough, so keep checking back every week as we explore the man, the myth and the legend.

Good luck choosing your kickers in Week 12 RotoBaller's! Feel free to hit me up on Twitter @RealTalkRaph if you want to discuss these life changing choices any further.