There are few things more satisfying in the world of fantasy football than identifying a player or group to break out when your fellow owners don’t.
With that in mind, it’s time to look at some possible sleepers for the upcoming season from everyone’s favorite position to discuss, place kicker.
3
Brandon Aubrey, Dallas Cowboys
During the three seasons Mike McCarthy has been the head coach in Dallas, the team’s kickers have scored 135, 129, and 137 points, respectively. Those are strong numbers, and it didn’t even require elite accuracy to achieve them — in that same time frame, Dallas’ kickers have converted 85.2 percent of their 108 FGA. It’s a byproduct of a high-powered offense that has remained productive despite QB Dak Prescott missing a combined 17 games over that three-year run.
Of course, the caveat here is Aubrey is a complete unknown at the NFL level. He kicked for Notre Dame in college, but his time with the Fighting Irish ended in 2016, at which point he transitioned into a short-lived career in Major League Soccer. He’s played two seasons with Birmingham of the USFL, but the 28-year-old rookie is very much a mystery. So, while Aubrey’s upside is considerable in his role as the Cowboys kicker, the team could pivot to a veteran (McCarthy and former Green Bay Packers PK Mason Crosby have history) at any point. He’s a final-round curiosity in deep leagues.
2
Riley Patterson, Detroit Lions
Detroit’s rise as an offensive powerhouse, particularly at home, was a surprise last season, but given that they return a young group of talented playmakers, there’s no reason to expect them to regress in 2023. One area they’d like to see improvement, however, is in the kicking game. They employed multiple kickers a year ago with Michael Badgley (now with the Washington Commanders) being the longest tenured as he filled the role for a dozen games, going 20 of 24 on FGA.
Instead of bringing Badgley back, they reunited with Patterson. The Memphis product spent last year with the Jacksonville Jaguars where he went 33-for-38 (86.8 percent), including the playoffs, on his FGA, and 40-for-41 on PAT. Prior to that, Patterson spent seven games as Detroit’s kicker in 2021 where he made 13 of 14 field goals and all 16 extra points. Although the Lions did rank near the bottom of the league in FGA last year (30; tied for 25th), their offense was top five in yards and scoring, and kicking indoors is always nice come fantasy playoff time.
1
Cameron Dicker, Los Angeles Chargers
After being released by the Washington Commanders during the 2021 season, Dustin Hopkins signed with the Chargers and proceeded to connect on 18 of his 20 FGA. The Bolts thought they had their kicker position covered entering last season, but Hopkins suffered a hamstring injury and appeared in just five games. While he once again made 90 percent of his kicks, Hopkins’ injury opened the door for Dicker, who was nothing short of excellent as a rookie.
Dubbed “Dicker the Kicker,” the former Longhorn went 21-for-22 on field goal attempts with his lone miss coming from 52 yards out. He also buried all 24 of his extra points. Nearly a full decade younger than Hopkins, Dicker has garnered the majority of the work in camp, and his preseason debut was once again flawless as made all six of his kicks (two FGA, four PAT). Barring something unforeseen, the 23-year-old will be LA’s kicker in Week 1.
Although the Chargers didn’t have an elite offense a season ago, finishing 13th in the NFL in scoring at 23.0 points per game, they have tremendous talent and a new offensive coordinator whose units have finished in the top six in scoring in three of the past four years. Dicker has high upside.
