November 1, 2016

Jacob Valov's Week 9 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 9 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 9 waiver wire recommendations, for all fantasy-relevant positions. Just click on any link: ALL - RB - WR - TE - QB - DEF - FAAB - CUTS

Week 9 Kickers To Start & Stream: Tiers & Rankings

Tier 1 NFL Kickers

1. Steven Hauschka (vs BUF)
2. Blair Walsh (@ DET)
3. Wil Lutz (@ SF)
4. Dan Bailey (@ CLE)
5. Adam Vinatieri (@ GB)
6. Mason Crosby (vs IND)

With Stephen GOATkowski on bye, who better to take his place atop kicker rankings than someone with the same name? Buffalo has finally calmed down after their offensive explosion and apparently ceded the division to the Patriots? I mean, Rex Ryan isn't wrong in saying they have no chance, but you're not supposed to say that out loud! With that big vote of confidence from their head coach, the Bills aren't looking too hot going forward, and coming into Seattle, they're looking to get whooped two weeks in a row. Hoosh Money is gonna eat.

Wil Lutz went OFF last week in Kansas City, kicking field goal after field goal to guide the Saints to an upset win in Seattle. As we've established, kicker rankings love a good hype train, and we're all aboard the Lutz-wagon. Against a horrendous SF defense that got crushed by the Bucs of all teams, Lutz is going to go off once more.

Tier 2 NFL Kickers

6. Josh Lambo (vs TEN)
7. Matt Bryant (@ TB)
8. Cairo Santos (vs JAX)
9. Ryan Succop (@ SD)
10. Justin Tucker (vs PIT)
11. Graham Gano (@ LA)

Well, it finally happened. Rotoballer Kicker Rankings' Favorite Son Josh Lambo came crashing back down to Earth, with a mediocre game against Denver. Maybe I just ranked him too high? I'm not sure, but I feel like it's partially my fault, somehow. I'm ranking him a little lower this week, we'll see if it helps. Tennessee is very burnable on defense and with Mariota playing well as of late, this game should be very back and forth, leading to lots of Lambo. Here's to a rebound week.

As the Tom Brady Revenge Tour continues it's rampant run across the league, a lesser-known, much less exciting event is also afoot: the Cam Newton Complain Train. Not to say Cam's complaints aren't legitimate, but with the way the NFL goes, if you aren't winning, no one is going to listen to what you have to say. Speaking of winning— the Panthers seem to have gotten back on track against the Cardinals, with Gano kicking a game for the ages, but until they can prove the team from last year still exists somewhere deep within them, Gano just isn't an elite option.

Tier 3 NFL Kickers

12. Greg Zuerlein (vs CAR)
13. Nick Folk (@ MIA)
14. Chris Boswell (@ BAL)
15. Phil Dawson (vs NO)
16. Sebastian Janikowski (vs DEN)
17. Robbie Gould (vs PHI)

Greg the Leg has been an interesting play any given week. He's got all the talent to be a tier one player, but the Rams are so bipolar, you never know what to expect; each week is nothing more than a dice roll. I find the best way to play Rams players is think logically about how things should play out, then do the opposite of that. The Panthers shut the Cardinals down last week, so you probably shouldn't play any Rams this week— so start all the Rams you have, they're going to score 50.

Welcome back to kicker rankings, Robbie Gould! We've missed you dearly, you beautiful person you. Coming in and replacing Trash Can Man (the kicker formerly known as Josh Brown), Gould is going to be a solid mid- to high-tier play week in week out, but against a tough Philly defense, he's not going to have the best time. He'll get a few here and there, but that team is just vicious and should get in Odell Beckham Jr's head from the start, putting the Giants' offense in a state of flux for the week.

Tier 4 NFL Kickers

15. Andrew Franks (vs NYJ)
16. Jason Myers (@ KC)
17. Brandon McManus (@ OAK)
18. Dan Carpenter (@ SEA)

I never thought Jason Myers would be back in kicker rankings, but here he is again, unfortunately. With Alex Smith potentially out of Sunday's game with a concussion and the Jags making a change at OC, maybe the Jags can pull out an upset win. Myers is a long shot, but he *shudders* has potential to have a decent week.

Tier 5 NFL Kickers

21. Matt Prater (vs MIN)
22. Caleb Sturgis (@ NYG)
23. Roberto Aguayo (vs ATL)