The first byes of the year aren't too damaging to our Week 6 fantasy kicker rankings. Very few fantasy football teams were rostering Joey Slye, Cody Parkey, or Matt Ammendola, so it's likely only the Younghoe Koo owner is hitting the free agent wire looking for a new kicker. The good news is that if you are that owner of Koo, there are plenty of worthwhile replacement options.
Notice we said "free agent" wire and not "waiver" wire. Don't use a waiver claim on a kicker. It's never worth it. Moreover, don't carry two kickers on your roster, even if you have a top-ranked guy like Justin Tucker or Tyler Bass. If someone else wants to pick him up, let them. It's not hard to find a good kicker in any given week (even though it might seem that way after last week's parade of missed FG attempts and PATs).
WEEK 6 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST
We have of another week of stats to look at when making our kicker decisions, but as we always say at this position, the stats only mean so much. Most of the top kickers in our rankings are the top kickers on the season, including a few guys who have risen in recent weeks, such as Dustin Hopkins (vs. Chiefs), Nick Folk (vs. Cowboys), and Chase McLaughlin (vs. Cardinals). Any of these players, all owned in fewer than 17 percent of leagues, would be a good fill-in for Koo. Rodrigo Blankenship (vs. Texans) is also widely available and has a fairly favorable statistical matchup. (Update: Blankenship is out this week.)
WEEK 6 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST
The rest of the top guys all pretty much fall in line about where you'd expect. Daniel Carlson (@ Broncos) is in an interesting spot, as he plays one of the statistically toughest defenses against kickers yet gets the advantage of kicking in the thin air of Denver. He might get fewer chances, but his odds of connecting from 50-plus yards are higher, which is why he's still in our top 10. Matt Prater (@ Browns) also has a tough statistical matchup, but given how easily and rapidly the Cardinals can move the ball, we still expect him to get some scoring chances.
Weather hasn't been too much an issue this year, so let's hope it stays that way. We don't have many worthwhile indoor options this week, as there are just two games in stadiums with roofs, but Blankenship (vs. Texans) and Evan McPherson (@ Lions) are your "safest" bets if you don't want to check any weather updates on Sunday morning.
Note We'll update these kicker rankings as needed throughout the week, so check back for the latest player movement.
Fantasy Kicker Rankings Week 6: Who to start, sit in fantasy football
| Rank | Player |
| 1 | Justin Tucker, BAL vs. LAC |
| 2 | Tyler Bass, BUF @ TEN |
| 3 | Harrison Butker, KC @ WAS |
| 4 | Brandon McManus, DEN vs. LV |
| 5 | Ryan Succop, TB @ PHI |
| 6 | Matt Gay, LAR @ NYG |
| 7 | Matt Prater, ARI @ CLE |
| 8 | Daniel Carlson, LV @ DEN |
| 9 | Nick Folk, NE vs. DAL |
| 10 | Dustin Hopkins, WAS vs. KC |
| 11 | Greg Zuerlein, DAL @ NE |
| 12 | Chase McLaughlin, CLE vs. ARI |
| 13 | Greg Joseph, MIN @ CAR |
| 14 | Evan McPherson, CIN @ DET |
| 15 | Graham Gano, NYG vs. LAR |
| 16 | Mason Crosby, GB @ CHI |
| 17 | Zane Gonzalez, CAR vs. MIN |
| 18 | Jason Sanders, MIA vs JAX |
| 19 | Michael Badgley, IND vs. HOU |
| 20 | Tristan Vizcaino, LAC @ BAL |
| 21 | Chris Boswell, PIT vs. SEA |
| 22 | Randy Bullock, TEN vs. BUF |
| 23 | Cairo Santos, CHI vs. GB |
| 24 | Austin Seibert, DET vs. CIN |
| 25 | Jake Elliott, PHI vs. TB |
| 26 | Ka'imi Fairbairn, HOU @ IND |
| 27 | Jason Myers, SEA @ PIT |
| 28 | Josh Lambo, JAX vs. MIA |
