Who Should I Start? Dustin Hopkins or Evan McPherson

Tuesday, August 26, 3:18 PM

The Cleveland Brown released kicker Dustin Hopkin on Tuesday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. It appears that Andre Szmyt will open the 2025 regular season as the team's placekicker, although the Browns could still bring in more competition before Week 1. Hopkins will be let go after spending the last two seasons kicking for Cleveland, where he went 51-for-63 on his field-goal attempts (81%) and 41-for-46 on his extra-point tries in 31 total games. The final straw for the 34-year-old veteran might have been when he missed one of his two extra-point tries in the preseason finale on Saturday against the Los Angeles Rams. Hopkins entered training camp on shaky ground at the position after going 18-for-27 on his field goals in 16 games a year ago.

Thursday, October 16, 11:01 AM

Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson has struggled to find fantasy relevance to start the 2025 season. Through six games, McPherson has converted six of eight field goal attempts and 11 extra points, averaging just 5.5 fantasy points per game, which ranks 36th among all kickers. The injury to quarterback Joe Burrow has limited scoring opportunities across the Bengals' offense, directly impacting McPherson's production. Even with a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have been shaky defensively, McPherson remains a risky fantasy option due to his limited opportunities in the struggling Cincinnati offense. Fantasy managers should look elsewhere for a more reliable kicker in Week 7.