Over time, as platforms have allowed it or league formats have been created to allow it, fantasy football leagues have done away with kickers. That sound you just heard is our FanSided NFL Division Director, and inventor of Kick Value Added (KVA), Adam Fromal, crying.
That said. the majority of fantasy leagues still use kickers and they can swing weekly results. Ignoring the position outside of the bye week for the kicker you drafted can work fine, but in terms of maximizing things fantasy managers should always have their eyes open in areas their league mates might not.
After some struggles last season, and an offseason adjustment, Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates has not missed a kick so far this season (20-for-20 on extra points; 8-for-8 on field goals). If there's a bone to pick, in fantasy terms and a bi-product of the Lions having the third-best red zone proficiency in the league, it's that he has had just one field goal attempt in four of five games so far this season.
Jake Bates is in line to be a big-time fantasy asset from here on out this season
Bates has at least seven fantasy points in all five of his games this season, with double digits in the last two. The Lions' bye week led to him being dropped from fantasy rosters far and wide, so he was available in 74 percent of Yahoo! leagues and over 61 percent of ESPN leagues entering the start of Week 7 waivers.
Starting with Week 7 against the Green Bay Packers. the Lions have at best two potential weather games through the rest of the fantasy season. The first is Week 10 against the New England Patriots in Munich, Germany, and the other is Week 17 at the Chicago Bears. Every other game is either indoors (at home, at the Minnesota Vikings, at the Atlanta Falcons) or in a warm weather city (at the Miami Dolphins).
READ MORE: Dan Campbell makes an exciting admission about Penei Sewell's future with Lions
A schedule that lines up favorably for the Lions' skill position players in fantasy as the weather e eventually trends to winter in some parts of the country, which was foreseeable during the offseason, also extends to Bates.
With the bye week already behind him, fantasy managers can also get a "set it and forget it" element for the rest of the season by picking up Bates this week. He's unlikely to do what Blake Grupe did and attempt to put a forceful tackle on a kickoff returner, so the injury risk is next to nil.
And if the offense starts to yield more field goal chances, with ideal conditions for longer attempts in most games, Bates has as much rest of the season fantasy upside as any Lion.
Add us as a preferred source on Google