Week 5 Kicker Streamers and Starts - 2021 Fantasy Tiers, Rankings

October 9, 2021

Robert Lorge breaks down all 2021 fantasy football Week 5 kickers -- streamers, starts, sits, targets, avoids, and waiver wire pickups. His Week 5 rankings and tiers for all of the NFL kickers.

Fantasy managers saw seven kickers who failed to even score five points and another seven kickers who managed to score in the double-digits. Unfortunately for myself, two of those sub-five kickers were on my streamers to target list. A bad week for the streamer picks, but slightly better on the busts. I did, however, stay true to my evaluations.

After the first three weeks of Ryan Succop scoring between 6–7 points on an explosive offense, I decided to drop him in not one, but two leagues. In both leagues, I picked up my favorite kicker streamer of Week 4, Greg Joseph. The Vikings' kicker had started off the season on fire, scoring 8, 13 and 13 points. But as fantasy football would have it, that would not continue. Succop would go on to score 15 points in Week 4, while Joseph scored a measly one point. In both leagues, it will likely be the difference between a W and an L. But hey, practice what you preach, am I right? Chase McLaughlin, another one of my streamer picks had himself a solid performance with nine points while the other streamer candidate disappointed. Dustin Hopkins had only four points, but the opportunity was there. Boy, was the opportunity there. He missed two extra points and later in the game, Washington opted to go for two on two separate occasions, failing on both of them.

Outside of Succop, my other three bust candidates did just that – busted. Harrison Butker scored six to continue his disappointing fantasy campaign, while Jason Sanders scored only five and Younghoe Koo scored six. In the name of accountability, I went back and looked at my streamers and busts picks through Week 4. If a kicker I nominated as a bust scored six points or less, that was a successful pick. If a kicker I nominated as a streamer scored nine points or more, that was a successful pick. Through four weeks, I have picked nine out of 14 successful streamer picks with another selection just missing the cut – finishing with eight points. Eight out of 14 bust selections have been successful. Not a bad start, but we'll see if can improve on those numbers a bit here in Week 5. Let's get started.

Week 5 Kicker Rankings

Streamers to Target

Tristan Vizcaino, Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers' offense has been a difficult one for opposing defenses to stop. Through three weeks – as of this writing, they had not yet played their Week 4 Monday Night game – they are averaging the eighth-most yards per game in the NFL. They are also tied for eighth in most red zone trips and that's with only having played three games. This is a very good offense. The Cleveland defense has started to come into their own the last two weeks and it looks like a unit that could give Justin Herbert just enough problems to force this offense to settle for a few field goals. With an implied point total of 49.5 points, fantasy managers can expect this game to provide plenty of fireworks.

Evan McPherson, Cincinnati Bengals

McPherson hasn't been great as it pertains to fantasy football this season, but has made five of six field goal attempts and all 11 extra points. Fantasy managers can expect this Cincinnati offense to get better and better as Joe Burrow gets back up to speed after missing the back-half of the 2020 season. Their Week 5 matchup against the Packers could become a kicker-friendly affair for McPherson. The Packers will be without Jaire Alexander and Za'Darius Smith, who are arguably their two best defensive players. The implied total of 49.5 points indicates fantasy managers should once again expect points to be scored. Aaron Rodgers and company appear to be the well-oiled machine we saw in 2020, which means the Bengals will need to score points to keep up.

Chase McLaughlin, Cleveland Browns

After scoring just three points in Week 1, McLaughlin has racked up 35 points the last three weeks. The Browns' offense is top-10 in total yards and is one of the more efficient offenses in the league. While the Chargers defense is a solid one, that's not necessarily a bad thing as it relates to fantasy football kicker scoring. Fantasy managers are looking for defenses the offense can move the ball on, but might struggle always finishing off drives – that sounds like the Chargers defense. As mentioned above with Vizcaino, this game has a 49.5 point implied total and while the game isn't inside a dome, it is being played in Los Angeles.

Busts to Avoid

Dustin Hopkins, Washington Football Team

Washington has a tough Week 5 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. The Saints have given up the 12th fewest yards and the fifth fewest points through four weeks. This is an excellent defense and on top of that, the Saints will be without their best offensive lineman, Brandon Scherff. While Hopkins will be at home, Washington can be prone to bad weather. That's the least of fantasy managers' concerns, however. The excellent Saints defense and the implied point total of 44.5 points is extremely worrisome.

Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers have only scored 20 or more points once this season – they scored 23 in Week 1. Big Ben looks absolutely washed up and this offense simply cannot threaten any defense over the top because Ben simply lacks any arm strength at this stage of his career. With a tough matchup against the Denver Broncos and an implied point total of just 40.5 points, fantasy managers should be looking elsewhere.

Rodrigo Blankenship, Indianapolis Colts

Blankenship has steadied the ship in the last three weeks. After scoring just four points in Week 1, Blankenship has rattled off three straight games of double-digits, but Week 5 presents a difficult matchup for the Colts' offense. They'll be on the road against a strong Baltimore defense. Carson Wentz is not 100% – neither is their offensive line – which means this offense is likely going to struggle moving the football. Blankenship has a big boot and is capable of making some long field goals and that's what fantasy managers will be looking for, but I'm hesitant about this matchup with a suspect offensive unit.

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