Subscribe
Follow Us
The 2023 NFL season is finally here. While in Week 1 it's generally wise to stick relatively close to your fantasy football kicker draft rankings, there are certain matchups to avoid and exploit at the kicker position this week.
If you missed out on a clear top tier fantasy kicker like Justin Tucker or Harrison Butker, streaming at the kicker position by targeting high-scoring games is always wise. While weather doesn't appear to be a factor yet, locking up a kicker who plays in a dome as we get into the later weeks can help you avoid some headaches as well.
There are two games on the Week 1 slate we want to target specifically: Dolphins-Chargers, and Chiefs-Lions.
Both have projected totals of over 50 points, according to FanDuel, which usually equates to some good scoring weeks for kickers. Jason Sanders, Cameron Dicker and Harrison Butker are all top-12 plays, with Lions kicker Riley Patterson sitting just outside the Top-12 in case the Chiefs get up early in that one.
At 41.5 projected total points, we'll steer clear of Steelers kicker Chris Boswell and 49ers kicker Jake Moody this week in one of the projected lowest scoring games of Week 1 on a field that tends to chew kickers up.
With the skies looking clear and football ready to begin, here are our fantasy football kicker rankings for Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season.
Week 1 Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings
1. Justin Tucker, BAL (vs HOU)
2. Harrison Butker, KC (vs DET)
3. Daniel Carlson, LV (@ DEN)
4. Jason Myers, SEA (vs LAR)
5. Younghoe Koo, ATL (vs CAR)
6. Jason Sanders, MIA (@ LAC)
Article Continues Below
7. Greg Joseph, MIN (vs TB)
8. Cameron Dicker, LAC (vs MIA)
9. Brandon McManus, JAX (@ IND)
10. Tyler Bass, BUF (@ NYJ)
11. Evan McPherson, CIN (@ CLE)
12. Joey Slye, WAS (vs ARI)
Only severe weather or an elite defense should move Justin Tucker off the top spot, and we've got neither to worry about in Week 1 against a rebuilding Texans team…Chiefs-Lions has the highest projected point total this week, making Butker an obvious start to kick things off…Jason Myers has been one of the most accurate kickers in the league, and the Rams are on blowout watch in Seattle without Cooper Kupp…Daniel Carlson set an NFL record last year with 11 field goals over 50 yards, and the Mile High air in Denver should only help his already unbelievable range…Younghoe Koo is a dome kicker we want in an offense that might run on third downs at an absurdly high rate…Koo attempted 37 field goals last year, and could easily eclipse 40 attempts this season…
Jason Sanders is involved in the second-highest projected point total game, putting him and Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker in the Top-12 this week for kicker rankings…Brandon McManus should see a lot of good field position for the Jags, especially against a Colts team tham that's going to struggle offensively out of the gates…Greg Joseph is a dome kicker tied to an explosive offense, but you're probably cutting him next week against a tough defense (@ PHI)…Tyler Bass is usually a top-3 option, but we'll show some respect to the Jets' defense and drop him down in the kicker rankings for the week…
Evan McPherson could benefit if the Bengals aren't firing on all cylinders in the red zone with Joe Burrow just coming back…If you're ever stuck trying to find a kicker in fantasy football, just see who Arizona is playing and target them without hesitation…it's all you this week, Joey Slye.
