Is Wil Lutz The Broncos' Starting Kicker? Fantasy Football Kickers

The kicker trades were rolling on Tuesday before the 53-man roster cut deadline in the NFL. There were three trades involving kickers to begin the week. One of the said trades involved the Denver Broncos sending a 2024 seventh-round pick to the New Orleans Saints for kicker Wil Lutz.

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Lutz reunites with head coach Sean Payton in Denver after the two spent five seasons together in New Orleans. The veteran has been a consistent kicker over his six-year career. 

But is he the Broncos' starting kicker? Is he a viable fantasy option? Let's dive in. 

Is Wil Lutz The Broncos' Starting Kicker?

With the Broncos trading for Lutz on Tuesday, he was set to become the team's starting kicker entering the season. Then, it became a reality when Denver cut Brett Maher shortly after. Maher was slated to be the team's starting kicker, but Payton decided to bring in one of his former guys. 

Lutz was really strong in his first couple of seasons in the league, going 119-for-136 (87.5%) on field goals and hitting 97% of his extra-point attempts from 2016 to 2019.

But the last three years haven't been as strong for the kicker. Lutz missed the entire 2021 campaign with a core muscle injury and only hit a combined 46-of-59 (78%) field goals in 2020 and 2022. He did only miss one extra point, though, during those same seasons (90-of-91). 

Wil Lutz 2023 Fantasy Football Outlook

It was tough to rely on any Broncos players last season and that includes kicker Brandon McManus, who was the team's 2022 starter. He finished as the K18 last season and had just six games above 10 fantasy points. 

However, the offense is expected to improve this year with a new head coach, which should help Lutz in fantasy. In five seasons with Payton, Lutz had three top-four kicker finishes and another top-12 finish. That's a good sign for him in 2023. 

Lutz has always produced in a Payton-led offense in his career. But it might be hard to bank on it, considering how bad the Broncos' offense was in 2022. The kicker is probably worth a shot in a 12-team league, though. Especially if players like Justin Tucker, Daniel Carlson, Younghoe Koo, and Evan McPherson are all off the board. 

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