A bunch of rookie kickers will be playing in Week 1. If form holds, some of them will be out of the league before October.
It’s a tricky position. Miss a few kicks, and one can get the yips. Cost a team a game, and it can result in a quick hook. Daniel Carlson and Younghoe Koo, for example, are two of the game’s best kickers right now; neither made it a month with their original teams.
So my general lean is to stay away from the first-year kickers. That group includes Jake Moody, Blake Grupe (pictured), Anders Carlson, Chad Ryland and Brandon Aubrey.
Below see the Week 1 numbers for rookie kickers since 2015. I picked that year because it was the season extra points got moved back. Of the 12 didn’t stick around long enough to kick on opening day again the next season. Another four got chopped during their second season. So for ballpark purposes, when you see a rookie starting in Week 1, two out of three of those guys don’t last.
The 25 rookies listed below made 48 of their 51 extra points; that’s about average. They made only 37 of 47 field goals (in those Week 1 games); that’s a below-average 79 percent. As a group, they averaged 6.4 points, which is less than what fantasy leaguers are hoping for.
In the chart below, players in bold didn’t make it to opening day the next year. Players with black dots got released during their second season.
| ROOKIE KICKERS IN WEEK 1 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Opp | Result | XP-A | FG-A | Points |
| 2015 | Andrew Franks, Mia. | at Was. | W 17-10 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 5 |
| 2015 | Kyle Brindza, T.B. | Ten. | L 14-42 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2 |
| 2015 | Travis Coons, Cle. | at NYJ | L 10-31 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 4 |
| 2015 | Zach Hocker, N.O. | at Ari. | L 19-31 | 1-1 | 4-4 | 13 |
| 2015 | Jason Myers, Jac. | Car. | L 9-20 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 3 |
| 2015 | Josh Lambo, S.D. | Det. | W 33-28 | 3-4 | 2-2 | 9 |
| 2016 | Roberto Aguayo, T.B. | at Atl. | W 31-24 | 4-4 | 1-1 | 7 |
| 2016 | Wil Lutz, N.O. | Oak. | L 34-35 | 4-4 | 2-4 | 10 |
| 2017 | • Zane Gonzalez, Cle. | Pitt. | L 18-21 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 4 |
| 2017 | Giorgio Tavecchio, Oak. | at Ten. | W 26-16 | 2-2 | 4-4 | 14 |
| 2017 | Younghoe Koo, LAC | at Den. | L 21-24 | 3-3 | 0-1 | 3 |
| 2017 | Aldrick Rosas, NYG | at Dall. | L 3-19 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 3 |
| 2017 | Ka'imi Fairbairn, Hou. | Jac. | L 7-29 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 1 |
| 2018 | • Brett Maher, Dall. | at Car. | L 8-16 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 |
| 2018 | Daniel Carlson, Min. | S.F. | W 24-16 | 3-3 | 1-1 | 6 |
| 2018 | Jason Sanders, Mia. | Ten. | W 27-20 | 3-3 | 2-2 | 9 |
| 2019 | • Austin Seibert, Cle. | Ten. | L 13-43 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 |
| 2019 | Eddy Pineiro, Chi. | G.B. | L 3-10 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 3 |
| 2019 | Matt Gay, T.B. | S.F. | L 17-31 | 2-2 | 1-1 | 5 |
| 2019 | Joey Slye, Car. | LAR | L 27-30 | 3-3 | 2-3 | 9 |
| 2020 | • Rodrigo Blankenship, Ind. | at Jac. | L 20-27 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 8 |
| 2020 | Sam Sloman, LAR | Dall. | W 20-17 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 8 |
| 2020 | Tyler Bass, Buff. | NYJ | W 27-17 | 3-3 | 2-4 | 9 |
| 2021 | Evan McPherson, Cin. | Min. | W 27-24 | 3-3 | 2-2 | 9 |
| 2022 | Cade York, Cle. | at Car. | W 26-24 | 2-2 | 4-4 | 14 |
Statistics compiled using search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com
—Ian Allan