Kicker scoring in fantasy football calmed down a little bit in Week 2, but the numbers this season remain pretty staggering. Five different kickers have scored at least 30.0 fantasy points through the first two games of the season, with three of them scoring over 35. In comparison, only nine running backs and six wide receivers have at least 30.0 points in standard scoring formats so far.
It's not just top-end production either, however. There are 16 different kickers who have scored at least 20.0. If your kicker is not producing, there is no reason at all to keep them on your roster right now. The waiver wire is flush with options.
Here are three kickers available in at least 50% of leagues that you can target to immediately plug into your starting lineup in Week 3. (All availability percentages are based on ESPN public leagues before waivers clearing).
1. Blake Grupe, New Orleans Saints (97.7% Available)
Expect Blake Grupe to be one of the most popular kicker adds in fantasy football this week.
Most fans wrote off the New Orleans Saints' Week 1 success (which led to a 20 fantasy point showing from Grupe) as being the result of an easy matchup against the Carolina Panthers. But then the Saints also throttled the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, dropping 44 points. This offense might be for real.
Grupe's production fell off sharply, but he still ended up with 8 fantasy points. It was also a relatively unlucky game for the kicker, as he got just 1 field goal attempt compared to 6 extra point attempts. We never expect an offense to stay that absurdly efficient for long.
The Saints get another plus matchup in Week 3, as slight home favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles in a game with one of the week's highest over/unders. Grupe is a no-brainer start in Week 3, and if the Saints keep this up he'll likely be one of fantasy football's most productive kickers on the entire season too.
2. Chase McLaughlin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (90.6% Available)
Let's stick with NFC South teams who are looking a lot better than I was ready to give them any credit for after Week 1.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin is No. 6 at the position in fantasy scoring through the first two weeks of 2024, with double-digit points in both games. And now he's in another perfect spot in Week 3.
The Bucs are at home against the hapless Denver Broncos, and they're favored by about a touchdown. Denver looked absolutely terrible to start the season, and when they played a real offense in Week 1 (the Seattle Seahawks) they gave up 10 fantasy points to Jason Myers. Then even against a terrible Pittsburgh Steelers offense in Week 2, Denver let Chris Boswell add another 9 fantasy points.
McLaughlin himself has been nails since joining the Bucs in 2023 (100% on extra points, 94.4%% on field goals across 19 games), and he should have plenty of opportunities to showcase that in Week 3.
3. Jake Bates, Detroit Lions (56.2% Available)
The highest over/under of the week is the huge 52.5-point line between the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals. As 3-point favorites, Detroit's implied total is sitting at a strong 27.75 points. In a potential shootout, that means Jake Bates should get a ton of work.
He's scored 10 and 8 fantasy points across his first two games, notching both multiple field goal and multiple extra point attempts in each. That should be no different here.
The Arizona Cardinals have allowed their opponents an average starting field position of the 36.5-yard line, second worst in the NFL. Only the Carolina Panthers have done worse in that department. Jared Goff and company should have no trouble getting into scoring range quickly on most of their drives this game, and Bates will get no shortage of attempts.
On the other side of the ball, Matt Prater is the No. 8 kicker in fantasy scoring so far and is available in 97.4% of leagues. He's not in quite as good a spot as Bates, but the shootout potential here makes him a viable option in Week 3 as well.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as 3 Fantasy Football Streaming Kicker Options for Week 3 (Add Blake Grupe Now).
