Is Blake Grupe The Saints Starting Kicker? Fantasy Football Kickers

The New Orleans Saints have had stability at kicker since 2016, with Wil Lutz playing every game in that span outside of the 2021 season, which he missed after an abdominal injury.

But that changed in 2023, as the Saints had a real position battle in the preseason between Lutz and Blake Grupe, a 5-foot-7 kicker who played at Arkansas State and Notre Dame.

Now, the Saints enter the 2023 season with a new face at the kicker position after trading Lutz to the Denver Broncos, where he's been reunited with his former head coach, Sean Payton.

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The Saints Preseason Kicker Battle

Heading into the preseason, it seemed like Wil Lutz would easily keep his job at kicker for the Saints. Even after converting on a career-low 74.2% of his field goal attempts last season, there wasn't really too much concern about Lutz's future with the Saints.

Until Blake Grupe came along. Both players had strong preseason performances, with Lutz going 4-for-4 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points, while Grupe was 5-for-6 on field goals and 1-for-1 on extra points. While Lutz converted on the field goals at a higher rate than Grupe, it wasn't enough to hold off the rookie kicker.

Did Blake Grupe Win The Kicker Job?

Wil Lutz spent much of his career playing under head coach Sean Payton, so when the Broncos needed help at kicker, Payton turned to a familiar face.

The Broncos sent New Orleans a 2024 seventh-round pick in exchange for Lutz. With the trade, the team officially handed the starting kicker job to the UDFA Grupe. The Broncos also released Brett Maher after the trade, cementing Lutz as Denver's starting kicker as well. After a battle in which both players were competing for one job, they now both find themselves with NFL starting roles in 2023.

Blake Grupe Fantasy Outlook

It can be tough to trust a rookie kicker in fantasy. There's just so much uncertainty about how kickers will adjust to the NFL game, with many hyped kickers failing to live up to expectations in the past.

Grupe is a talented player, but he made just 74.3% of his field goal attempts in five seasons in college. There's definitely a risk to this move on the Saints' part, and there's plenty of risk for fantasy managers as well.

Because his floor is lower than many other kickers, consider Grupe to be a low-end K2 until we see some NFL regular season production from the rookie.

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