NFL Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 7: Kickers

I know you were all concerned about what I was going to do with Rodrigo Blankenship on a bye this week. But it’s cool. Koo is my next-favorite dude. Great game last week for the Falcons and you should note he’s been a top-six kicker in three of the last four games. He has the highest average for any kicker in the league with 12 fantasy points.

I’m telling you, a tear came to my eye when Santos hit a 55-yard field goal against the Panthers on Sunday. These were the kind of kicks Cody Parkey was supposed to hit two years ago. And I know it’s poor form to talk about a kicker from two years ago when your team is 5-1. But had Parkey hit from 50-plus yards against the Dolphins two years ago, the Bears would have been the No. 2 seed and the double doink would have never happened. But let’s just enjoy Santos, who has at least eight fantasy points in two straight.

Hey, he’s been a top-six kicker in two of his last three games. And did you know the Lions have 23 drives into the red zone this season? That’s the second-most in the NFL. Let’s just put this out there. The Falcons defense is not very good: They allow a lot of points. In fact, an average of 30.7 per game, which is the fifth-most in the NFL.

The FT offense hasn’t been great. And trusting him is risky, even against the Cowboys. But Dallas has allowed the third-most fantasy points to kickers this season (11.6). And they have allowed the most points in the league, too. And this FT vs. Cowboys rivalry can get wild, and we’ve seen freaky things happen with kickers this year. So if I’m looking to stream a kicker this week, I’d have Hopkins on my short list.

You might be surprised to find out Bullock has been a top-10 fantasy kicker in five of six games this season. I mean, it shouldn’t be. The Bengals have scored a lot of points this year. Joey Burrow has been dealing. But there is just something about trusting Bengals players that just seems weird. Like if a pizza place started being known for great salads. Like it shouldn't be that outlandish. Antipasto salads are amazing. And why shouldn’t a pizza place make a great one? Let’s just say start Bullock and move on.

Dude kicked six field goals against the Patriots (which is worth 22 fantasy points) and it seems crazy to bench him this week. But again, we don’t want to chase those points. He’s got a tougher matchup this week against the Chiefs. The defending Super Bowl champions have not allowed a top-10 kicker this season.

Gostkowski had a kick blocked. He flat-out missed another kick. And this seems like a situation where they are just kind of overlooking this because he was great on extra points and the team is winning. The Steelers have allowed the fewest fantasy points to kickers this season (3.6) and have allowed the second-fewest yards per game. Make no mistake. The Titans will move the football. But they might have less scoring opportunities than you’re used to.

Let’s go to the flip side of this game. The Titans have allowed the fourth-fewest fantasy points to kickers this year. And really, Boswell has not scored a lot of points, averaging 7.6 fantasy points per game, which is 20th at the position. Which is weird because the Steelers are unbeaten.

Hey, we were so excited for Brown who made the first field goal of his NFL career! Actually his first kick on any level. And I wanted to give him a little love. I mean, I’m saying to sit him. Which might seem mean, but I did want to give him a shoutout for making that first kick. I’m just not going to start him because the Jaguars are not scoring enough points. And I feel like I might be jinxing that he’ll even be on the team this week by writing this, but I’m doing it.