It can be very difficult for fantasy football managers to find a kicker they can trust and even harder to move away from one who is waning. That is the situation we find ourselves in with Justin Tucker, who, after years of being as elite as they come, has seen his powers start to fade in 2024.
On the other hand, we have Blake Grupe, who is off to a nice start for the New Orleans Saints. Grupe has played all four of his games indoors so far and has more waiting for him, but can fantasy managers trust him kicking outdoors?
Let’s examine where both players sit in our Week 5 fantasy kicker rankings and dive deeper into their outlooks.
WEEK 5 POSITIONAL RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF | FLEX
Top 28 Fantasy Kicker Rankings
1) Brandon Aubrey | Dallas Cowboys (at PIT)
2) Ka’imi Fairbairn | Houston Texans (vs. BUF)
3) Harrison Butker | Kansas City Chiefs (vs. NO)
4) Younghoe Koo | Atlanta Falcons (vs. TB)
5) Jake Moody | San Francisco 49ers (vs. ARI)
6) Tyler Bass | Buffalo Bills (at HOU)
7) Evan McPherson | Cincinnati Bengals (vs. BAL)
8) Jason Myers | Seattle Seahawks (vs. NYG)
9) Matt Prater | Arizona Cardinals (at SF)
10) Justin Tucker | Baltimore Ravens (at CIN)
11) Chase McLaughlin | Tampa Bay Buccaneers (at ATL)
12) Chris Boswell | Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. DAL)
13) Blake Grupe | New Orleans Saints (at KC)
14) Cairo Santos | Chicago Bears (vs. CAR)
15) Greg Zuerlein | New York Jets (vs. MIN {London})
16) Dustin Hopkins | Cleveland Browns (at WAS)
17) Brayden Narveson | Green Bay Packers (at LAR)
18) Austin Seibert | Washington Commanders (vs. CLE)
19) Wil Lutz | Denver Broncos (vs. LV)
20) Will Reichard | Minnesota Vikings (vs. NYJ {London})
21) Greg Joseph | New York Giants (at SEA)
22) Daniel Carlson | Las Vegas Raiders (at DEN)
23) Joshua Karty | Los Angeles Rams (vs. GB)
24) Eddy Pineiro | Carolina Panthers (at CHI)
25) Matt Gay | Indianapolis Colts (at JAX)
26) Jason Sanders | Miami Dolphins (at NE)
27) Cam Little | Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. IND)
28) Joey Slye | New England Patriots (vs. MIA)
Which Kickers Are Intriguing for Week 5?
Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens (at CIN)
What do you do with Tucker at this point?
The Ravens’ kicker has been incredible both in the NFL and for fantasy football. However, the magic appears to be waning.
Tucker is still the active leader in career field-goal percentage and holds the all-time record in that statistic for now. However, he’s hitting at just a 62.5% rate this season, having missed three field goals from 40+ yards.
Tucker has missed both efforts from over 50 yards, continuing a worrying trend from last season, when he was 1 for 5 from that distance. Dating back to 2022, he’s made just 10 of 21 efforts from 50 yards, and that is a major red flag going forward in terms of his job security.
John Harbaugh said there's a "technique issue" with Justin Tucker's misses.
Looking at his 46-yard miss in Dallas, it starts straight but there's a dramatic hook halfway through.
I'm no kicking expert so I have no idea why, but I'm sure the Ravens know. Confident he'll fix it. pic.twitter.com/EH16YHZ7x9
— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink)
For now, Tucker is still attached to a very good offense, and he already has 13 extra points on the season. There is still value in him as your fantasy kicker this week, but his outlook is a concern long term.
Blake Grupe, New Orleans Saints (at KC)
Grupe has had a really good start to the 2024 NFL season. He is 8 for 8 on field goals and 13 for 14 on extra points. All four of his games have been indoors, so this will be his first game outside this year.
That could have an impact on Grupe’s accuracy this week, but at this time of the year, the weather shouldn’t be a disaster.
Looking longer term, Grupe will have five games in a dome in the next six weeks and eight games overall inside over the rest of the season. Therefore, the upside is there for Grupe going forward, but this might be a week where you could take some lumps.
All stats are from TruMedia unless otherwise stated.
