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Updated kicker fantasy football rankings for Week 1 (2026). Set winning fantasy lineups with our Week 1 kicker rankings for fantasy football leagues.
Hey RotoBallers! The 2026 NFL season begins in just a few days, which means it's time to set our first lineups of the season. Below, you will find our updated Week 1 kicker rankings for the first set of matchups for the 2026 campaign.
In our Week 1 kicker rankings for fantasy football below, you'll see where key fantasy options such as Cairo Santos, Eddy Pineiro, Spencer Shrader, Trey Smack, Will Reichard, Daniel Carlson, Wil Lutz, Chris Boswell, Jake Elliott, Tyler Bass, Harrison Butker, and more stand for the initial slate of the 2026 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 2026.
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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.
| Tier | Rank | Player Name | Pos |
| 1 | 1 | Brandon Aubrey | K |
| 1 | 2 | Cameron Dicker | K |
| 1 | 3 | Ka'imi Fairbairn | K |
| 1 | 4 | Cam Little | K |
| 1 | 5 | Jake Bates | K |
| 1 | 6 | Tyler Loop | K |
| 1 | 7 | Evan McPherson | K |
| 1 | 8 | Chase McLaughlin | K |
| 1 | 9 | Jason Myers | K |
| 1 | 10 | Harrison Mevis | K |
| 1 | 11 | Cairo Santos | K |
| 1 | 12 | Eddy Pineiro | K |
| 1 | 13 | Spencer Shrader | K |
| 1 | 14 | Trey Smack | K |
| 1 | 15 | Will Reichard | K |
| 1 | 16 | Daniel Carlson | K |
| 1 | 17 | Wil Lutz | K |
| 1 | 18 | Chris Boswell | K |
| 1 | 19 | Jake Elliott | K |
| 2 | 20 | Tyler Bass | K |
| 2 | 21 | Harrison Butker | K |
| 2 | 22 | Andy Borregales | K |
| 2 | 23 | Riley Patterson | K |
| 2 | 24 | Joey Slye | K |
| 2 | 25 | Matt Gay | K |
| 2 | 26 | Ryan Fitzgerald | K |
| 2 | 27 | Nick Folk | K |
| 2 | 28 | Drew Stevens | K |
| 2 | 29 | Jason Sanders | K |
| 2 | 30 | Chad Ryland | K |
| 2 | 31 | Dominic Zvada | K |
| 2 | 32 | Andre Szmyt | K |
2026 Fantasy Football Outlooks
Ka'imi Fairbairn, Houston Texans
Houston Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn is coming off about as good a fantasy season as a kicker can have. He made 44 of 48 field-goal attempts in 15 games, tying David Akers' NFL single-season record for makes, and went a perfect 28-for-28 on extra points.
The distance wasn't a problem either. Fairbairn hit all 16 of his tries from 40 to 49 yards and went 9-for-13 from 50 to 59, with a long of 57. Houston also gave him a two-year, $13 million extension in March that keeps him under contract through 2028. The only thing worth pushing back on is last year's volume. His 48 field-goal attempts led the league, and counting on another season like that is asking a lot.
Fairbairn doesn't need to get there again to be useful. He has the leg, the accuracy, and a secure job on a Houston offense that gave him plenty of chances last year. He still belongs near the top of the kicker pool in redraft.
Drew Stevens, Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders kicker Drew Stevens has won the kicking job ahead of the 2026 season, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic. He essentially locked in his roster spot when the Commanders released fellow kicker Jake Moody on Monday morning. Stevens, an undrafted free agent out of Iowa, made one field goal and one extra point in the Commanders' preseason opener. Back at school last year, he went 22-for-28 on field goals, which led the Big 10.
He also went 41-for-42 on extra points. The 22-year-old doesn't have much redraft appeal yet, but that could change once he gets some regular-season games under his belt. In the meantime, we need to see him produce consistent results in the NFL, and we also need to see how many high-value fantasy opportunities he gets in a Commanders offense that has some question marks.
Brandon Aubrey, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey has ranked among the top three fantasy scorers at his position in each of the last three years, and we don't expect that to change in 2026. Aubrey has one of the league's most powerful and accurate legs, he kicks in a closed-air stadium, and he plays for a Cowboys team with a high-scoring offense. The 31-year-old routinely finds himself in high-value scenarios for fantasy football, and his accuracy numbers speak for themselves.
Last year, he went 36-for-42 on field goals, including 11 makes from 50+ yards, and he also went 47-for-48 on extra points. As it stands, he ranks as the overall K1 in RotoBaller's latest fantasy football draft rankings. With that being said, managers in most leagues should hold off on taking a kicker until the last round or two of the draft.
Cam Little, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars placekicker Cam Little aims to build on a strong second season in 2026. Last year, Little made 30 of 34 field goals, including a 68-yarder that set the NFL record for the longest, and 50 of 51 extra points.
He finished as the fifth-ranked kicker in fantasy formats, averaging 9.6 fantasy points per game. The third-year kicker will be 23 by the start of the season and is already setting records and eyeing the first-ever 70-yard field goal, which he has made only in the preseason. With head coach Liam Coen and quarterback Trevor Lawrence hoping to build on a strong first season together, Little hopes for more opportunities in 2026.
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: Cam, Little, Jake Bates, Tyler, Loop, Evan McPherson, Chase McLaughlin. 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 Cam, Little, Jake Bates, Tyler, Loop, Evan McPherson, Chase McLaughlin:
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