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Nick Mariano looks at all 2026 fantasy football Week 9 kickers -- streamers, starts, sits, targets, avoids, and waiver wire pickups. Our Week 9 rankings and tiers for all of the NFL kickers.
The calendar has turned to November, which brings Week 9 (a modest two-team bye, thank goodness) to our doorsteps! Some of you will have to find a replacement for Chris Boswell, and others are moving on from Tyler Loop (injured) and Spencer Shrader (dismantled team), but most of you can be flexible, and perhaps even target one of the kickers returning to action. Your league may have seen Ka'imi Fairbairn or Eddy Pineiro dropped for last week's bye, which you can pounce on!
Thanks to our early projections, we have several streamer candidates for your consideration to win the week ahead. Even the best kickers can have off weeks or simply not be used much, but we do what we can to set ourselves up for success. In general, we still have healthy trends to follow and highlight those Ks in good spots who are widely available.
We'll talk through some low-rostered kickers who should help you towards a win in Week 9. Analyzing kickers can feel like a luck-driven exercise, but there are factors we can use to increase our chances of enjoying those spike weeks. Let's not neglect those K slots now, so join me for a roundtable discussion about which kickers are worth streaming and who's ranked where going into Week 9.
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Week 9 Kicker Rankings for Fantasy Football
| Kicker Tier |
Kicker Rank |
Kicker Name |
Team | Opp. | Y% Rost. |
| 1 | 1 | Brandon Aubrey | DAL | @IND | 99% |
| 1 | 2 | Ka'imi Fairbairn | HOU | @LAC | 70% |
| 1 | 3 | Evan McPherson | CIN | @ATL | 81% |
| 2 | 4 | Will Reichard | MIN | BUF | 93% |
| 2 | 5 | Cam Little | JAX | @BAL | 89% |
| 2 | 6 | Jake Bates | DET | @MIA | 65% |
| 2 | 7 | Cairo Santos | CHI | TB | 43% |
| 2 | 8 | Tyler Bass | BUF | @MIN | 41% |
| 2 | 9 | Chase McLaughlin | TB | @CHI | 49% |
| 3 | 10 | Jason Myers | SEA | ARI | 91% |
| 3 | 11 | Eddy Pineiro | SF | LV | 24% |
| 3 | 12 | Wil Lutz | DEN | @CAR | 15% |
| 3 | 13 | Drew Stevens | WAS | LAR | 11% |
| 4 | 14 | Brandon McManus | LAR | @WSH | 6% |
| 4 | 15 | Matt Gay | LV | @SF | 37% |
| 4 | 16 | Daniel Carlson | NO | CLE | 1% |
| 4 | 17 | Spencer Shrader | IND | DAL | 80% |
| 4 | 18 | Dominic Zvada | NYG | @PHI | 2% |
| 4 | 19 | Harrison Butker | KC | NYJ | 25% |
| 4 | 20 | Trey Smack | GB | @NE | 37% |
| 5 | 21 | Ryan Fitzgerald | CAR | DEN | 4% |
| 5 | 22 | Nick Folk | ATL | CIN | 7% |
| 5 | 23 | Andre Szmyt | CLE | @NO | 2% |
| 5 | 24 | Jason Sanders | NYJ | @KC | 1% |
| 5 | 25 | Andy Borregales | NE | GB | 6% |
| 6 | 26 | Zane Gonzalez | MIA | DET | 0% |
| 6 | 27 | Cameron Dicker | LAC | HOU | 31% |
| 6 | 28 | Chad Ryland | ARI | @SEA | 6% |
| 6 | 29 | Jake Elliott | PHI | NYG | 5% |
| 6 | 30 | Jake Moody | BAL | JAX | 0% |
Kicker Streamers to Target for Week 9
Only players rostered in fewer than 50% of fantasy football leagues are considered streamers, and I try to aim lower than that. Respect the tiers and don't get bogged down by pure ordinal rank.
Last week, we pointed out how Week 7 saw a substantial dip in kicking output, and Week 8 did not provide a rebound. Weeks 1-6 saw kickers hit kicks at least 81.3% of the time, with a couple of weeks in the 88-90% success bucket. But Week 7 fell to 75.4%, and before MNF it’s at 79.2% in Week 8.
We had honed in on kicks of 40 or more yards in the last article since that’s where the money is made, with kickers usually hitting them around 75-80% of the time prior to Week 7. But then we got an ugly 58.6% clip, and now we’re eating another subpar 64.3% rate.
There were plenty of “excusable misses,” as we had three kicks fail between 57-61 yards, but also four were missed between 40-46 yards. Harrison Butker missed from 54 and is now a paltry 2-of-7 from 50-plus (9-for-20 in the last three years), which should raise the calls for Justin Tucker to tag in from the practice squad.
Cairo Santos (CHI) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
43% Rostered
The Bears went into Seattle and hung 34 points on the defending champs, who had previously embarrassed the Chiefs. Now 6-2 with 30 or more points in three straight games (since Caleb Williams returned), the Bears have kept Santos involved along the way.
He made a pair of field goals in Week 8 and is now averaging 12 standard fantasy points in the four games that Williams has played throughout. Now, the Bucs’ defense has played inspired ball lately and moved way up to No. 2 in defensive DVOA, but after this Seattle shellacking, we are beyond fear, yes?
Chase McLaughlin (TB) at Chicago Bears
49% Rostered
Let’s play both sides? Even the torrential downpours couldn’t mess up McLaughlin’s flow state, as the Buccaneer boot is still perfect after sinking all three field goals and an extra point in the 16-0 win over Atlanta. He improved to 11-for-11 from 40 or more yards out and is nearing our article cutoff with his rising rostered rate.
Chase McLaughlin converts from 42 yards out to add to Tampa Bay's lead, 9-0.
McLaughlin's 73 kicking points this season leads all kickers.
— Buccaneers Communications (@BuccaneersComms) November 1, 2026
Chicago’s Jeffrey Simmons-infused defense is terrifying and will force the Bucs to get more creative beyond pounding the rock, but McLaughlin has given us the confidence that even a handful of long opportunities should make him a fantasy winner. He’s within the inner circle of trust until proven otherwise.
Eddy Pineiro (SF) vs. Las Vegas Raiders
23% Rostered
The Niners emerge from their much-needed bye week with improved health, which will greatly improve the offensive outlook and Pineiro's chances of running up the score. He hasn't kicked multiple field goals in a game since Week 1's Australian win, so skepticism is understandable.
If you think San Francisco is simply too good at closing out drives and only leaving extra points for Eddy, then move along to these other choices! But they’ll emerge from their bye week as a top-three team in terms of reaching the opponent’s 40-yard line, which happens on 66.2% of their drives so far.
Wil Lutz (DEN) at Carolina Panthers
15% Rostered
Lutz has been perfect for three weeks in a row going into a plus matchup with a reeling Carolina defense. He’d missed one kick in Weeks 3, 4, and 5, but we’re back on track now. We’d like for the offense to be more potent, but unleashing Jonah Coleman seems to be helping.
As for that remark about San Fran being elite at reaching the opponent’s 40? Well, Denver is second-to-last at 44.9%, but Carolina is a bottom-10 defense on that front. They’ve let opponents cross that mark 59% of the time. There’s enough here for us to endorse Lutz as a flier. This is also an excuse to shoehorn some history in:
HISTORY: Wil Lutz has set the NFL record for the longest streak of made PATs.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevens) November 2, 2026
Dominic Zvada (NYG) at Philadelphia Eagles
6% Rostered
It’s a leap of faith here after Zvada missed both field goals in Week 7, but those on the ropes for a kicker in deep leagues should be happy to target Philadelphia’s defense. The Eagles have talent on that side of the field, but much of the offense being out just wears them down over the course of a game.
Ryan Fitzgerald, Brandon Aubrey, and now Drew Stevens have secured double-digit performances against them over the last three weeks. Stevens was our 1% special last weekend; he topped the list at 16 points. If the Giants are going to build Zvada's confidence back up, a game that they're controlling against Philly makes a good backdrop.
Brandon McManus (LAR) at Washington Commanders
6% Rostered
The Rams haven’t asked McManus to do much in his two active games, kicking only one field goal and drilling all eight extra points across two games. We’re following the strong 26.5 implied team total here. He's sitting ignored on most wires, but perhaps the Rams get Terrance Ferguson back this week and build out receiving depth for a balanced attack.
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