The injury bug hit fantasy kickers this week with a season-ending knee injury to Spencer Shrader of the Indianapolis Colts. Shrader entered Week 5 as the top-scoring kicker in fantasy and the only kicker in the league to put up double-digit fantasy points in each of his four games in 2025. The team has not yet announced a replacement placekicker for the Colts.
It was a down week overall, with just seven players scoring double digits entering Monday Night Football, and only two of those seven kickers were rostered in more than 5% of fantasy football leagues. Unless you started Ka’imi Fairbairn or Chase McLaughlin, chances are you were disappointed with your fantasy kicker’s production.
Rookie Andy Borregales of the New England Patriots made the kick of the week when he crushed a 52-yard field goal as time expired to give the visiting team an upset win over the host Bills. The kick looked as though it would have been good from well over 60 yards.
The Will Reichard incident was one of the more interesting kicking controversies of the season, with a 51-yard try by Minnesota Kicker Will Reichard apparently hitting the wire of the spider cam in the stadium and veering wide right. Per NFL rules, he should have received another chance at the kick, but neither the refs on the field nor the Vikings’ sideline noticed the deflection. From a fantasy perspective, that gaff proved to be a five-point swing for Reichard managers, leaving them with just three fantasy points on the day instead of eight.
Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings & Start/Sit Advice: Week 6
Widely Available Kickers With Strong Week 5 Performances
Eddy Pineiro (K – SF) @ Los Angeles Rams: 2% Roster Percentage on Yahoo
The 49ers look to have solved their kicker woes with veteran Eddy Pineiro. The journeyman kicker scored 17 fantasy points in San Francisco’s upset win on the road over the Rams, with four field goals and two extra points. Assuming the game does not go sideways this week in Tampa Bay, Pineiro could be a top-10 kicker again this week.
Blake Grupe (K – NO) vs. New York Giants: 1% Roster Percentage on Yahoo
Blake Goupe now has 24 fantasy points in his last two games, thanks to a 15-point showing at home against the Giants. He is not the most accurate kicker, but in the right situation, like at home against a good defense and a mediocre opposing offense, he proved he is fantasy viable.
Widely Rostered Kickers With Dud Week 5 Performances
Brandon Aubrey (K – DAL) @ New York Jets: 100% Roster Percentage on Yahoo
Six points from the only kicker rostered in 100% of Yahoo leagues deserves to be a dud performer. Brandon Aubrey is still third in the league in fantasy points and should be a top play this week against the Panthers. It is a little surprising, though, that he has not topped 10 fantasy points in any of his previous three games.
Week 6 Kicker Rankings
*Red Zone Efficiency is based on the inverse of how well a kicker’s offense does in the red zone. For example, the Ravens rank first in red-zone efficiency; therefore, Tyler Loop has an RZ EFF score of 31. The lower the number, the better for kickers, as playing on a team that struggles to score touchdowns in the red zone equates to more field goal opportunities.
**The K Score is the sum of a player’s opponent red zone, the red-zone efficiency of his offense and the overall rank of his respective team in terms of total yards. A low score indicates that a kicker has variables working in his favor for a good fantasy kicking performance.
Kicker rankings are based on numerous factors, including matchups, Vegas lines and score projections, weather conditions, the ability of a kicker’s team offense and their ability to move the ball into field goal range, offensive red-zone efficiency and how well the opposing defense limits touchdowns in the red zone. These factors are a guide, but not a definitive way to predict kicking success, as other variables and negative game scripts significantly impact the outcome.
Based on all of the variables mentioned above, the following two kickers are players ranked outside of FantasyPros’ top-10 expert consensus rankings (ECR) at the kicker position who could be excellent plays in Week 6.
Week 6 Standout Kickers
Cam Little (K – JAX) vs. Seattle: 46% Roster Percentage on Yahoo
Cam Little scored eight and nine points, respectively, in his previous two starts and now has a home game against the Seahawks in which he boasts a K Score of 34.5. I like him to match the floor of eight points from the last two weeks with a ceiling of 14 in a game that could see two high-scoring kickers.
Daniel Carlson (K – LV) vs. Tennessee: 6% Roster Percentage on Yahoo
This one is a bit of a longshot for those looking for a deep play. Daniel Carlson has not been great for fantasy purposes this year, but he does have his best chance of the young season at a breakout performance. Wil Lutz, Spencer Shrader and Ka’imi Fairbairn all scored at least seven fantasy points against the Titans. Carlson, with his K Score of 28, could top double digits.
Prediction Review
Each week, I suggest two kickers ranked outside the FantasyPros ECR top 10 who I believe will be solid performers based on the variables described in the K Score section. The following is a review of my picks from the previous week to see where I was successful and where I missed the mark.
Chad Ryland (K – ARI) vs. Tennessee: 9% Roster Percentage on Yahoo
ECR Rank: K12
My Rank: K8
Week 5 Finish: K25
Chad Ryland made all three extra point attempts on the day and could have had some late-game field goal tries had the Cardinals not imploded on themselves and blown a 21-6 lead. Instead, Ryland was a disappointment with just three fantasy points.
Wil Lutz (K – DEN) @ Philadelphia: 69% Roster Percentage on Yahoo
ECR Rank: K17
My Rank: K10
Week 5 Finish: T-K8
Wil Lutz capitalized on a low-scoring week to finish as a top-10 kicker against the Eagles, converting both of his field goal attempts and adding an extra point. He’s a solid streaming option again this week on the road against the Jets, where scoring opportunities should remain steady.
Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups
