Welcome to RotoBaller’s Week 3 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...

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Week 3 Kickers To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings

Tier 1 NFL Kickers

1. Stephen Gostkowski (vs HOU)
2. Cairo Santos (vs NYJ)
3. Justin Tucker (@ JAX)
4. Steven Hauschka (vs SF)

Stephen GOATkowski is just that, the GOAT. Betting against him any week is just silly, he will remain at the top of the list until he retires, plain and simple. However, there is more to his placement than just that. New England is down to their 3rd QB with an uninspiring run game (looking at you LeGarrette), which doesn’t bode well for their red-zone success, especially against a nasty Houston front 7 that dominated the Chiefs last week. Gostkowski will need to fill a similar role as Santos did for the Chiefs last week (read: be their entire offense) to help New England win.

Hauschka (or Hoosh-Money as I lovingly call him) is just that: money. With the Seahawks’ offense in a similar disaster state as New England, they’re gonna need to call on the Hoosh-meister early and often to keep themselves in the game against an underrated San Francisco defense.

 

Tier 2 NFL Kickers

5. Chandler Catanzaro (@ Bills)
6. Graham Gano (vs MIN)
7. Dan Bailey (vs CHI)
8. Adam Vinatieri (vs SD)
9. Blair Walsh (@ CAR)
10. Nick Novak (@ NE)

Arizona showed some issues against a nasty New England front 7, and while the Bills aren’t quite on their level, they’re no slouch either. If Arizona struggles keeping drives alive, they may turn to Catanzaro more times than they’d like in a game that should lead to them putting up major pointage.

San Diego’s defense stepped up big last week against what was supposed to be a potent Jacksonville offense, shutting them down for the majority of the afternoon. While Luck and Co are in theory better than Bortles and his boys, the Chargers should provide more of a challenge than the Colts would like. With Indy still struggling to establish the run game, some 3rd and shorts outside of the red zone could end up incomplete passes, meaning they’ll need the assistance of Vinatieri to make sure their drives end up with additions to the point column.

 

Tier 3 NFL Kickers

11. Brandon McManus (@ CIN)
12. Josh Lambo (@ IND)
13. Mason Crosby (vs DET)
14. Mike Nugent (vs DEN)

Josh Lambo may seem an odd choice to be so high on my list for the week, and he very well could be, but I have a hunch he’s gonna perform. My hunch last week about Cairo Santos killing it was right (I called it live on air during Fantasy Football Free-For-All, a radio show I host for Rotoballer, check us out Sunday mornings at 11:30 Eastern), so you can feel confident this hunch will be right on the money as well. I have been given the gift of kicker prescience, do not doubt me.

If Cincinnati's offense thought last week was rough, they’re in for a real bad time against Denver’s defense this week. The Bengals had to turn to Mike Nugent 3 times to bail them out and that number will only rise this week, play him with confidence.

 

Tier 4 NFL Kickers

15. Chris Boswell (@ PHI)
16. Wil Lutz (vs ATL)
17. Josh Brown (vs WAS)
18. Jason Myers (vs BAL)
19. Nick Folk (@ KC)
20. Dustin Hopkins (@ NYG)

Once again, my kicker psychic gifts have spoken to me, and they have told me Jason Myers should perform adequately against Baltimore. The Jacksonville offense should rebound, but they’re bound to suffer some lingering side-effects of getting dominated by San Diego. Drives are going to stall early and Myers will be there to clean up the mess. It is foretold.

As much as I wanted to believe Washington would keep their offensive momentum from last season going this year, I knew deep down it was a lie. Kirk Cousins has come back down to earth and looks like hot garbage, missing throws constantly and struggling to put points on the board. Hopkins is going to be drug down with Kirk, as their offense is likely to continue to struggle against a surprisingly tough Giants defense. No, Kirk, I don’t like that.

 

Tier 5 NFL Kickers

21. Matt Prater (@ GB)
22. Matt Bryant (@ NO)
23. Connor Barth (@ DAL)
24. Sebastian Janikowski (@ TEN)
25. Greg Zuerlein (@ TB)

Gotta include Greg the Leg and Seabass, just disrespectful not to.

 

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