Who Should I Start? Cairo Santos or Rodrigo Blankenship

Thursday, September 7, 5:35 PM

Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos had over 91% of his field goal attempts last season. The veteran kicker only missed two field goals in 2022. However, he did miss five extra-point attempts. Santos returned for his fourth consecutive year with the Bears this season despite some minor struggles last year. Unfortunately, the Chicago kicker has limited fantasy value in Week 1. Last year, he averaged only 6.1 fantasy points per game, making him the 27th-highest-scoring kicker. More importantly, he faces the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Santos scored only 11 fantasy points in the two matchups against the NFC North rivals last season. Fantasy players can find a better streaming option on the waiver wire than Santos.

Monday, August 21, 6:14 PM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived kicker Rodrigo Blankenship on Monday. Blankenship lost the kicking battle to Chase McLaughlin in training camp this summer and will now look to latch on with another team before the start of the 2023 regular season. The 26-year-old spent last year with the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals, going 4-for-5 on his field-goal tries and 4-for-5 on extra points in just three total games. As long as Tampa doesn't bring in more competition for McLaughlin to close out the preseason, he should enter Week 1 as the team's starting kicker. McLaughlin, 27, made 83.3 percent of his 36 field-goal attempts and made all 21 of his extra-point tries in 16 games with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022. The kicking position in Tampa won't be as exciting in fantasy now that Tom Brady isn't running the offense in 2023.