Happy Thanksgiving, and welcome to Week 13—where fantasy fortunes can swing on the foot of a kicker just as easily as the arm of a quarterback.
All 32 NFL teams return to action this week before four clubs take their final breather in Week 14. The holiday slate is loaded with action. The Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions kick things off on Thursday afternoon, followed by Chiefs–Cowboys and Bengals–Ravens under the primetime lights. Fantasy managers and fans will also get a Black Friday showdown, with the Bears and Eagles facing off in a game with tons of postseason consequences on the line. If you love chaos, drama, and playoff implications, you’re in the right place.
Kickers may not have the flair of star wideouts or the jaw-dropping highlight reels of elite running backs, but they quietly remain some of the most influential pieces on any fantasy roster. Every point matters—sometimes more than we’d like to admit. A 50-yard bomb can single-handedly swing a matchup, delivering more fantasy juice than a one-yard dime from your QB in four-point passing touchdown leagues. Ignore them at your own peril.
Just ask anyone who benefited from Chase McLaughlin’s Week 3 clinic against the Jets: five field goals, two extra points, and a ridiculous 21 fantasy points—outscoring Ja’Marr Chase’s season average. On the flip side, Cam Little managers are still nursing emotional bruises after his zero-point vanishing act against Seattle in Week 6. Nothing stings quite like losing by 2.5 points because your kicker forgot to show up. Totally hypothetical, of course (I’m not salty or anything).
That’s why a steady, trustworthy option like Brandon Aubrey feels like a warm blanket in late November. One shanked 28-yarder can wreck a week and ruin Thanksgiving leftovers. Nobody needs that kind of trauma heading into the fantasy playoffs. Seriously, who among us hasn’t watched a kicker step up for a 53-yarder and felt their soul leave their body for a second?
Before diving into the Week 13 kicker rankings, let’s rewind the tape and take stock of the position’s top performers through 12 weeks.
Through 12 weeks of the season, the kicker rankings aren’t exactly what most analysts would have anticipated. Here are the top 12 kickers at this point of the fantasy football season according to FantasyData.com.
Jason Myers, Seattle SeahawksBrandon Aubrey, Dallas CowboysCameron Dicker, Los Angeles ChargersChris Boswell, Pittsburgh SteelersKa’imi Fairbairn, Houston TexansWill Reichard, Minnesota VikingsChase McLaughlin, Tampa Bay BuccaneersAndy Borregales, New England PatriotsEddy Pineiro, San Francisco 49ersTyler Loop, Baltimore RavensHarrison Butker, Kansas City ChiefsCam Little, Jacksonville Jaguars
Cameron Dicker and Brandon Aubrey entered the year as two of the most coveted fantasy kickers—and they’ve largely lived up to the billing—but several overlooked options have forced their way into the spotlight, including Jason Myers, who continues to climb the leaderboard quietly and efficiently.
When building our kicker rankings, we follow a time-tested philosophy: target strong offenses that aren’t automatic touchdown machines. The perfect environment is one where a team marches downfield consistently but stalls just short of paydirt, opening the door for high-value field goal attempts. It’s a razor-thin balance, but history has proven it works.
The NFL’s most dependable fantasy kickers rarely come from juggernaut offenses that live in the end zone; instead, they thrive on above-average units that move the ball well but hit the brakes in the red zone. And while kickers will always carry week-to-week volatility, this strategy has repeatedly delivered reliable results.
With Week 13 kicking off Thursday, let’s break down the best—and worst—kickers across the NFL.
Jacksonville Jaguars place kicker Cam Little (39) after the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Jacksonville’s kicker finds himself in another appealing spot this week as the Jaguars face the Tennessee Titans, a team that has surrendered the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing kickers this season. Little remains surprisingly available in more than one-third of ESPN Fantasy leagues. He should be this week’s most coveted kicker on the waiver wire.
Last week, Jacksonville battled through some rough Trevor Lawrence turnovers, but Little delivered when it mattered—drilling two field goals from 50+ yards and tacking on three extra points. In today’s fantasy landscape, double-digit outings are gold, and when your kicker can snag five points per long-range bomb, Little becomes a target worth circling.
The Titans defense is quietly a dream matchup for fantasy kickers, allowing nearly four red-zone trips per game and surrendering 17 field goals across 11 contests. That’s the recipe for a couple of easy chip-shots and possibly another long one if momentum swings Jacksonville’s way.
With the Jaguars projected to push toward 30 points, there’s plenty of reason to feel optimistic. If you need help at kicker, don’t overthink it—this could be another week where Little goes big.
Rolling the dice on Ka’imi Fairbairn last week while he was fresh off an injury took some courage, but the veteran rewarded managers by drilling all three of his attempts on Thursday night. Reliability has always been his calling card, and he continues to prove it.
On the season, Fairbairn is 25-of-28, with all three misses coming from 50+ yards. This week, he benefits from an indoor home game, and Houston kickers have already logged 33 field-goal attempts through 11 games, one of the highest totals in the league.
The Colts pose a slightly tougher matchup, allowing the 14th-fewest fantasy points to opposing kickers. Still, given the Texans’ persistent red-zone struggles, Fairbairn could be very active once again—especially if C.J. Stroud is unable to return and drives stall short of the goal line.
Let’s take a closer look at how the rest of the NFL’s kickers stack up in our Week 13 rankings.