Nine, seven and seven. Those were the fantasy point totals of our Week 10 streaming kicker plays, and man alive, they could’ve been so much better.
Our main streamer, the disappointing Chandler Catanzaro — or Cat Man, for short — finished with seven fantasy points after narrowly missing a 52-yard field goal that would’ve pushed him into the week’s top-3 kickers.
Shaun Suisham, in a plus matchup against a Jets’ defense that had been shredded by passing attacks, missed out on at least one — maybe two — field goal attempts as the listless Steelers scrambled to come back against Gang Green in the second half. Suisham still managed nine points, while our third kicker, Dan Carpenter, scored a meager seven points against a Kansas City defense that has stonewalled opponents inside the red zone.
This week, unlike recent weeks, sees some of the best kicker options available on a huge percentage of waiver wires. Let’s get into Week 11 kickers I’ll be using everywhere…
Nick Novak (SD) vs. Oakland Raiders
Novak, available on 37 percent of waiver wires, gets a plus matchup this week against an Oakland defense giving up 8.6 schedule-adjusted fantasy points to opposing kickers. Novak sports one of the most dramatic home-road splits in fantasy, notching 11 fantasy points per game at home and just 5.8 points on the road. He’s in the friendly confines of San Diego in Week 11, luckily for us.
Even better: Oakland sports one of the league’s best red zone stop rates, allowing touchdowns on 51.3 percent of opponents’ red zone possessions. Only eight teams are better at keeping offenses out of the end zone once they breach to 20-yard line. The Raiders see 2.3 field goals attempted against them every week — an incredibly high number that gives Novak a decidedly high fantasy floor. The Rotoviz Streaming Kicker app pegs Novak as the week’s second best kicker play.
Get Novak anywhere and everywhere you can.
Kai Forbath (WAS) vs. Tampa Bay Bucs
In a week that could easily see three games eclipse 55 total points, I see this Tampa-Washington throw down as a sneakily high scoring affair between two teams with horrendous defenses. That makes Forbath a viable play as someone who could benefit from what I expect to be a back-and-forth affair.
Tampa Bay allows a league-high 10.3 adjusted fantasy points to kickers — a stat that makes sense to anyone who has watched opposing offenses march up and down the field against a hapless Bucs secondary. No team allows more field goal attempts per game than the Bucs.
Forbath has been the occasional victim of a struggling Washington offense forgoing field goal attempts in a desperate attempt to keep pace with superior opponents, but I don’t think we need to worry about that in Week 11. The Bucs are awful, and with a little fortune, Forbath can be a top play. The Streaming Kicker app says he has the fourth best matchup of Week 11.
Forbath is owned in just 2 percent of leagues.
Shayne Graham (NO) vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Streaming kicker disciples, generally speaking, want a piece of any offense projected by Vegas powers that be to score 28.75 points. That’s what we have this week with Graham, a guy — like Forbath — who could reap the benefits of a mostly defenseless contest.
Cincinnati, rated by Pro Football Focus as the NFL’s worst overall defense, is allowing 2.4 field goal attempts per game. Only two teams, the Bears and the Bucs, allow more. Graham has done just fine in the Superdome this year, averaging 9.2 fantasy points per contest despite limited opportunities in an offense that is pretty damn good inside the 20 yard line.
The Bengals’ defense is 13th in red zone stop rate — not good, not bad, but not quite what we’re looking for in a top-end play. I’d much prefer Novak and Forbath this week, while Graham — available in 74 percent of leagues — is a solid fallback option against the Bengals.
Graham, a former Bengals kicker, has Narrative Street on his side too, if you’re into that sort of thing.
