You’ve spent weeks obsessed over draft rankings, logged several hundred mocks, and assembled a roster so good that you’re considering getting it framed. Now that draft season is behind you, it’s time to move your attention to fantasy football’s ugly stepchild. Kickers.

If you spent any significant draft capital on a top tier kicker, then this isn’t the column for you. If you waited until the last round or didn’t draft a kicker at all, then you’ve come to the right place. Allow me be your sherpa up Mount Kickimanjaro.

What are we looking for in a kicker?

We want to target kickers in games with

High implied scoring. Against strong red zone defenses. On teams that attempt lots of field goals. Kicking in a dome is a plus.

For the time being I am relying on previous season data to determine team tendency to attempt field goals. As the season moves my projections will slowly ramp up 2019 data while fading 2018.

In the interest of keeping this column specific to streaming, I will not be covering kickers with >90% ownership on Yahoo. Currently that means Tucker, Zuerlein, Butker, Lutz, and Fairbairn. If you have these guys, you’re starting them.

Tier 1

Brett Maher (DAL) vs NYG

Jake Elliott (PHI) vs WAS

Mason Crosby (GB) @ CHI

Mike Badgley (LAC) vs IND

Maher and Elliott are my top picks for week 1. Both teams are heavy favorites against teams with above average red zone defense. If Zeke doesn’t report for week 1 then I would give the edge to Maher as Dallas might struggle to find the endzone with any consistency against the Giants defense.

Mason Crosby should see quite a few attempts against the Chicago Bears on Thursday despite Green Bay’s low implied scoring. The Bears have one of the best red zone defenses in the league and you just know that Aaron Rodgers is going to put his team into scoring position. That is a perfect storm for streaming.

Tier 2

Matt Bryant (ATL) @ MIN

Aldrick Rosas (NYG) @ DAL

Austin Seibert (CLE) vs TEN

Matt Bryant has a pretty tough matchup in week 1 but he gets a slight bump for kicking in a dome and for the fact that he has potential to be a season long hold. Atlanta’s defense should keep them out of the constant shootouts they saw last season which opens up some opportunities for their kicker. Factor in that the Falcons only have 3 outdoor games this season and you’ve got a very interesting season-long option in Bryant. The veteran kicker’s range is starting to fall off but the Matt Ryan led offense should get him in range consistently.

Rosas was a benefactor of a New York Giants offense that struggled to score last season and there’s no reason to believe that the situation has improved in 2019. The Vegas line doesn’t have the Giants scoring too many points against Dallas but few teams attempted as many field goals per game as the G-Men in 2018 and I think they’ll be forced to settle for 3 more often than not.

I’m being cautious about Seibert and personally I don’t think I’ll be touching him week 1. Strictly looking at the matchup data I would say that he’s a lock for a solid outing. The finally relevant Cleveland Browns are heavy favorites against a top-tier Tennessee defense. It seems like a no-brainer but Seibert is unreliable for anything beyond the 40 yard range and I just don’t think the Browns are going to turn to him consistently. No team attempted more 2 point conversions than Cleveland last season and I suspect they will try to mask their kicker problems again this year. If you’re not risk averse then this is a potential streamer that could pay off in spades. Just don’t be surprised if he puts up a dud.

Tier 3

Matt Prater (DET) @ ARI

Eddy Pineiro (CHI) VS GB

Dan Bailey (MIN) vs ATL

Jason Myers (SEA) vs CIN

The only thing keeper Prater out of the second tier of kickers is that the Arizona defense has some major holes so aside from a few extra points I don’t believe Detroit will be relying on Prater too much. Still, the Lions should see plenty of scoring opportunities which gives Prater a solid floor in week 1.

I think a lot of people are avoiding Pineiro because the Bears have struggled with field goals for a while now. I’m willing to give him a shot on the assumption that Chicago will take another step forward offensively under Matt Nagy and that their defense will provide them with solid field position.

After only notching 22 field goals in 2018 you might be shying away from Minnesota when looking for a kicker but that would be a mistake. The Vikings averaged 2 FG attempts per game last year which puts them in the top 10 in the NFL. Bailey had the career worst 75% accuracy in 2018 but if he can manage to shake off the slump and find some consistency he has some legitimate upside.

You can rely on the Seahawks to frequently get Myers into field goal range against the Bengals who allowed more points to the kicker position than any other team in 2018. This is as safe a floor as you’re going to see in a streamer but his ceiling might be capped by the fact that Seattle probably won’t need to settle for field goals too often.