Week 17 Kicker Streamers and Starts – 2021 Fantasy Tiers, Rankings

We've finally made it – Championship Week. It's been a long season and the last two weeks have been some sort of sick drill of trying to dodge landmine after landmine. Between the injuries and Covid-19, making it this far was a testament to your team's depth and luck. Regardless of the reason, you're here. You've made it.

Week 16 wasn't easy. Jonathan Taylor picked Week 16 to not score a touchdown for the first time in 11 weeks. Tyreek Hill, despite Travis Kelce being out, scored just 2.9 half-PPR points. Those studs weren't the only ones that disappointed fantasy lineups. Justin Tucker and Nick Folk, two of the best kickers all season, each scored just three points. My personal favorite was Matt Prater. The Cardinals' offense has struggled recently and thus, he's struggled. In Week 16, however, he had a chance for redemption. He kicked a 51-yarder and a 41-yarder, so depending on your league scoring, you're looking at nine points right there. Prater missed both of them. He also missed an extra point. He'd finish with two measly points when he could've had 12. Now, this especially stings me because in one of my semi-final matchups, I started Matt Prater.

As of this writing – pre-Monday Night Football – I am currently winning this matchup by 12.66 points. My team is all done, while my opponent has Tua Tagovailoa left to go. Is it possible Tua scores under 12.66 points? Sure, it's possible. However, had Prater made those three other kicks, Tua would've needed to score 22.66 points and I'd have felt a lot more comfortable about that. So as you're reading this, let it be a reminder – kickers matter. Unless of course, you don't play with kickers and in that case, why are you reading this?

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Week 17 Kicker Rankings for Fantasy Football

Kicker Streamers to Target for Week 17

Jake Elliott, Philadelphia Eagles

This guy has been nothing short of sensational for fantasy managers since Nick Sirianni decided to transform his offense from one of the most pass-heavy offenses in the league to one of the most run-heavy offenses in the league. Unfortunately, this has completely glazed over fantasy managers on almost every platform. He's just 20% rostered in Yahoo! leagues. On ESPN, he's rostered in just 16.5% of leagues. Elliott has been a mainstay on this article in the streamers section since Week 8 and do you want to know why? Because he's been the best fantasy kicker in the league since that time. Better than Nick Folk. Better than Justin Tucker. Better than everybody.

He's averaging 11.5 points per game since that time. It's weird to say a kicker can provide a solid advantage week-to-week – it just doesn't typically happen – but that's not the case with Elliott. Since Week 8, he's had three games with 16 or more points out of eight contests. Getting 16 or more points from your kicker is huge. In Week 17, the Eagles go up against Washington, whose offense is broken and whose defense was literally fighting itself last week. Washington is tied for 12th for the most points given up this season to opposing kickers at 8.4 points per game.

Robbie Gould, San Francisco 49ers

Gould hasn't been very good recently, scoring just 27 points in their last four contests, but Week 17 includes a date against the Houston Texans. Honestly, that joke just doesn't have the same punch we'd thought it would have at this point of the season. The Texans aren't good. No one is about to dispute that, but they're not that bad. Still, this is a matchup the 49ers shouldn't struggle to score points or move the ball with ease. The Texans have allowed the fourth-most points per game this season at 26.7 and the third-most yards per game at 381.

Not surprisingly, they've been quite generous to fantasy kickers too, allowing 8.5 points per game, which is the 10th-highest in the NFL. While Gould may not have the ceiling that Jake Elliott does, this week Gould comes with a very safe floor in an excellent matchup. If you're a favorite in your championship matchup and just not looking for a dud from your kicker, Gould is a very safe option this week.

Michael Badgley, Indianapolis Colts

There's a lot to like, on both sides of the field, as it relates to fantasy kickers, but Daniel Carlson is almost a must-start whereas Badgley is not. No matter, Badgley is in a great spot here too. For starters, the implied point total of 46.5 gives fantasy managers hope for a high-scoring game and there's no question this game has some shoot-out appeal to it. The Raiders have given up the seventh-most points on defense this season, so the Colts' offense shouldn't meet much resistance.

The Raiders are tied for 12th in the most fantasy points allowed to opposing kickers per game this season. It's a good spot for Badgley against a bad defense and inside a dome. He's also an extremely safe option, scoring eight or more points in seven out of 10 games with the Colts this season.

Other Good Starts: Matt Prater (Arizona Cardinals), Ryan Succop (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Kicker Busts to Avoid for Week 17

Greg Joseph, Minnesota Vikings

Joseph has been fantastic this season and in his last seven games, he's scored in double-figures in five of them. However, there are reasons to be concerned in Week 17. The Vikings will go on the road in Week 17 to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Forget about the nostalgia of the stadium, kicking outside as opposed to in a dome presents a major elemental factor. Joseph has only played in five out of 15 games where he's had to kick outside. In those five games, he's scored 30 points total – a six-point per game average. In his other 10 games, he's averaged 10.8 points per game. Quite a difference.

As if fantasy managers didn't have enough to worry about with how kicking outside has impacted Joseph's fantasy scoring, there's the fact that the Packers have been brutal to fantasy kickers this season. They've only allowed 6.1 points per game, which is the fifth-lowest in the league.

Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers

Fantasy managers should want nothing to do with this game. The implied point total of 41.5 is disgusting. Their first meeting resulted in 25 total points. Boswell ended with three points in that one. Both offenses are in the bottom half in terms of team scoring, with neither team scoring 21 or more points per game. The game is outside in Pittsburgh, which always adds the risk factor as it relates to the weather. In the last five weeks, the Steelers are averaging 17.4 points as a team. The Browns have averaged 16.6 points per game over their last five games.

This will be a hard-fought, low-scoring divisional matchup, just like the first one, and there will be few fantasy goodies here for fantasy managers. The upside is limited, but the floor is as low as three points here for Boswell. Honestly, it could even be worse than that. Stay aware.

Younghoe Koo, Atlanta Falcons

Koo hasn't been able to even remotely come close to replicating the kind of fantasy season he had in 2020 and fantasy managers shouldn't be looking for anything of the sort in Week 17 either. He's been terrific when given the opportunity. He's 100% on his extra points and has missed just two field goals all year. Despite that, he has just four games of double-digits and eight games with six points or less. In Week 17, they go on the road to face the Buffalo Bills. It's a brutal matchup. Buffalo has a great defense and it's been particularly tough on kickers, only allowing 5.2 points per game – the lowest average in the entire NFL. The fact that the game is on the road adds another hazard fantasy managers would be wise to avoid.

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