Who Should I Start? Charlie Smyth or Jude McAtamney

Sunday, August 25, 6:35 PM

New Orleans Saints kicker Charlie Smyth (groin) didn't suit up during Sunday's preseason contest against the Tennessee Titans. The rookie kicker has been dealing with an ongoing groin issue since Friday. Head coach Dennis Allen said that the team wanted to play it safe and hold Smyth out of this game. In his absence, Blake Grupe handled the kicking duties during the preseason finale. He connected on both his field goal attempts and made all three of his extra point attempts as well. It remains to be seen which kicker the team decides to ride with into the regular season. Grupe is probably the favorite after making 30-of-37 field goal attempts and all 40 extra point attempts during his rookie season with the Saints in 2023.

Sunday, August 25, 4:43 AM

New York Giants kicker Jude McAtamney hit both of his field goal attempts in Saturday's loss to the Giants, connecting from 43 yards and 23 yards away. He was the only Giant to put points on the board in the preseason finale. Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, McAtamney had experience playing Gaelic football before giving the American game a go, eventually playing for Rutgers in 2022 and 2023. McAtamney's path to the NFL makes for a good story but he won't be making waves in fantasy just yet. Signed as an international player, the 24-year-old rookie would not count against the 16 players on the Giants' practice squad. That does seem like the likeliest destination for McAtamney, as Graham Gano is healthy again and slated to be the Giants' starting kicker.