Fantasy Football Week 18 kicker rankings: Brandon McManus, Ka'imi Fairbairn & Harrison Butker in the spotlight

Modified Jan 01, 2024 22:48 GMT

Fantasy Football Week 18 kicker rankings: Brandon McManus, Ka'imi Fairbairn & Harrison Butker in the spotlight

With Week 18 arriving, those brave fantasy football leagues that fight to the bitter end are playing their Super Bowls or final consolation games. This is a tough week as playoff-lock teams may be resting players or limiting their reps. While this causes complete chaos in fantasy football, players benefiting the most are kickers.

Kickers shouldn't see their totals fluctuate too much and in some cases, this could work out in their favor. It's hard to predict which kickers will hit big on any given week, as there are so many variables that affect them. Between the weather, game scripts and confidence, kickers are a dice roll every week.

However, some are almost automatic or are facing teams that present kickers will plenty of opportunities. These are the players to look at in Week 18 of fantasy football.

Last week saw some game-winning displays from kickers across the league, with Harrison Butker (21), Ka'imi Fairbairn (16) and Brandon McManus (14) stealing the spotlight. Cairo Santos (13) and Chris Boswell (12) were close behind, and in total, 11 kickers broke the 10-point barrier in Week 17 of fantasy football.

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Butker has been a safe start this season and looks to be in for a decent day when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the LA Chargers. Butker is ranked No. 4 among kickers and with the Chiefs looking out of sorts on offense this season, he could be called on multiple times.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are not having the best of times of late and are in danger of slipping out of the playoff picture. They face a Tennessee Titans team that is struggling to score points, so a kicker like Brandon McManus could benefit from a safety-first mentality. McManus is the 12th-ranked kicker in fantasy football this season and looks to have good upside in this crucial matchup.

Ka'imi Fairbairn is a reliable kicker and coming off a big week. He might be available on waivers, as the Houston Texans kicker is only rostered in 12.9% of fantasy football leagues. Given the must-win game the Texans are preparing for against the Indianapolis Colts, an accurate kicker like Fairbairn could be in for a huge day in a tense and cagey affair.

If you have a Cleveland Browns kicker, Dustin Hopkins' injury concern is going to be a worry for you and realistically, there are decent options on waivers to pick up. Hopkins' status affects Riley Patterson, his replacement, and this is a headache you should avoid.

Colts kicker Matt Gay could be worth a look, as the aforementioned game against the Texans could be a big one for kickers. Gay is only rostered in 41.7% of leagues so either he or Fairbairn are good pickups.

Below are the rankings for kickers in Week 18, sorted by overall points scored in fantasy football this season. If you need a hand choosing between them, Sportskeeda's Start/Sit tool can be useful.