Week 1 of the fantasy football season has arrived. As always, it is crucial to know what players are the preferable starts. Taking player talent, performance, and matchup into account, here are my Week 1 kicker rankings.
Top 32 Fantasy Kicker Rankings
FIND MORE POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF | Flex | SF
1) Jake Elliott | Philadelphia Eagles (vs. GB)
2) Evan McPherson | Cincinnati Bengals (vs. NE)
3) Harrison Butker | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. BAL)
4) Justin Tucker | Baltimore Ravens (at KC)
5) Brandon Aubrey | Dallas Cowboys (at CLE)
6) Tyler Bass | Buffalo Bills (vs. ARI)
7) Ka’imi Fairbairn | Houston Texans (at IND)
8) Jason Sanders | Miami Dolphins (vs. JAX)
9) Younghoe Koo | Atlanta Falcons (vs. PIT)
10) Jake Moody | San Francisco 49ers (vs. NYJ)
11) Jake Bates | Detroit Lions (vs. LAR)
12) Cairo Santos | Chicago Bears (vs. TEN)
13) Jason Myers | Seattle Seahawks (vs. DEN)
14) Cameron Dicker | Los Angeles Chargers (vs. LV)
15) Blake Grupe | New Orleans Saints (vs. CAR)
16) Chase McLaughlin | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. WAS)
17) Daniel Carlson | Las Vegas Raiders (at LAC)
18) Brayden Narveson | Green Bay Packers (at PHI)
19) Dustin Hopkins | Cleveland Browns (vs. DAL)
20) Chris Boswell | Pittsburgh Steelers (at ATL)
21) Graham Gano | New York Giants (vs. MIN)
22) Greg Zuerlein | New York Jets (at SF)
23) Spencer Shrader | Indianapolis Colts (vs. HOU)
24) Matt Prater | Arizona Cardinals (at BUF)
25) Joshua Karty | Los Angeles Rams (at DET)
26) Will Reichard | Minnesota Vikings (at NYG)
27) Eddy Pineiro | Carolina Panthers (at NO)
28) Nick Folk | Tennessee Titans (at CHI)
29) Will Lut | Denver Broncos (at SEA)
30) Cade York | Washington Commanders (at TB)
31) Cam Little | Jacksonville Jaguars (at MIA)
32) Joey Slye | New England Patriots (at CIN)
The Top Kickers To Start in Week 1
Jake Moody, San Francisco 49ers (vs. NYJ)
This looks like a really good spot for Jake Moody to open the season.
The 49ers have one of the best offenses in football, and there’s no way the Jets can completely shut them down. But the Jets have a very good defense — potentially the best in the league.
It’s a very nice setup for the 49ers to be able to move the ball into scoring position but struggle to finish drives, resulting in multiple field goal attempts for Moody.
The 49ers are at home, favored, and in good weather. This could easily end up being a low-scoring game featuring two strong defenses but one that also features a higher-than-normal number of field goal attempts.
Blake Grupe, New Orleans Saints (vs. CAR)
Despite the Saints having a very underwhelming offense last year, Blake Grupe was a pretty effective fantasy kicker. He had 11 games with multiple field goal attempts. One such contest game against the Panthers, albeit on the road.
The Saints are four-point home favorites to open the season. They play in a dome, guaranteeing perfect weather.
While the Panthers should be a better team than they were last year, it’s highly unlikely the Saints find themselves in a game script where they can’t kick field goals.
Grupe should have at least two or three attempts on Sunday. He made 81.1% of his field goals last season and is a great streaming option for fantasy managers in Week 1.