Let me start off by saying that I hate kickers and I believe field goals should be taken out of the game altogether. I don’t hate kickers per say – although Blair Walsh’s over the top celebration for making a field goal in the preseason against his former team was a bit much, it is more a disdain for how much field goals impact the outcome of a fantasy football matchup.

Not only do most leagues give too many points for made field goals, but too many closely fought games also come down to which team lucks out with a kicker having an unpredictable, blowout performance. As the commissioner of a newly formed dynasty league, I implemented a new feature to remove kickers altogether, leaving the focus of the league squarely on skill position players and quarterbacks. It was without a doubt the best decision I have made in my 17 years running leagues, and I highly recommend making the same change to your home league.

For the vast majority of owners who do not have the benefit of playing without field goals, streaming a fickle position like place kicker is the most logical course of action. Sure, you can go against the grain and draft a player like Stephen Gostkowski before the last round of the draft, but anyone who made that mistake last year can attest to the pitfalls of assuming that a kicker will be great based on previous year’s performances.

Touchdowns are the most unpredictable asset in fantasy football followed by field goals, so unless you land one of the top-ranked kickers like Matt Bryant who plays indoors or a ridiculously accurate player like Justin Tucker, it makes sense to stream the position based on matchups, location, and weather conditions.

Here are a few streaming options that I am targeting in Week 1 of the NFL season.

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Phil Dawson – ARZ @ DET

To the joy of all Arizona fans, the nightmare that was the Chandler Cantazaro experiment is officially over, with the Cardinals letting Chandler Bing (as in binging against the goal post) leave for the Jets while adding veteran Phil Dawson.

Although Dawson is not the same sexy pick he was 50 years ago when he joined the league as Paul Brown’s kicker (I kid), he is still accurate for his age (made 18 of 21 attempts last year for the 49ers), and the Cardinals have an excellent indoor matchup against the Lions.

Vegas odds makers have this projected to be a relatively high scoring affair with an over/under of 48 points, but both offenses have yet to click in the preseason, leading me to believe they will move the ball well but fail to score touchdowns. I prefer Matt Prater to Dawson in the matchup, but with a 14% ownership in Yahoo leagues, the latter is likely the only one of the two available in your league.

Kai Forbath – MIN vs. NO

Forbath made all 15 field goal attempts with the Vikings after joining the team midseason in 2016. He has continued his hot play by making all of his field goals this preseason, including a 51-yard shot against the Seahawks Week 2.

Typically I would not recommend the kicker opposite of New Orleans, as it is likely the Saints will build a decent lead and force their opponent to forgo field goals for touchdowns to keep pace. But the Vikings have a formidable defense and Drew Brees does not fare quite as well on the road, leading me to believe more field goals will be kicked in this game than people think.

Dustin Hopkins – WAS vs. PHI

Going with three dome kickers would be too easy, so I decided to add a kicker that will be dealing with outdoor conditions like grass and wind. Dustin Hopkins had a roller coaster season in 2016 after making 11 field goals over the course of the first three games, only to stumble late and fall out of favor with fantasy owners.

But on a positive note, the former Florida State Seminole led the league with 42 field goal attempts and has looked sharp in the preseason for a team that otherwise has looked off. The offensive woes for the Redskins were evident throughout the four preseason games, as the Kirk Cousin/Terrelle Pryor connection has yet to take off, and oft-injured Josh Doctson has not been able to stay healthy.

Make no mistake, the Redskins will be able to move the ball, but converting those drives into touchdowns may be a difficult task until the offense starts clicking, making Hopkins an excellent play Week 1.

Red Flag Alert

Adam Vinatieri – IND @ LAR

With the news from Colts owner Jim Irsay that Andrew Luck will likely miss Week 1, all Colts across the board should be downgraded in rankings with Scott Tolzien under center.

Add in the fact that the Colts take on a difficult Rams defense on the road in an outdoor stadium, and you have the makings of a possible disaster game for a kicker. For that reason, I am steering clear of Adam Vinatieri this week, despite the fact that he is owned in nearly all Yahoo leagues.



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Andrew Swanson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive or follow him @FantasyProsAndy.