Who Should I Start? Greg Joseph or Jake Bates

Sunday, January 5, 10:10 PM

New York Jets kicker Greg Joseph made his lone field-goal attempt and added three extra points in a 32-20 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 18. Joseph was signed off of the Jets' practice squad earlier in the week and hit all of his kicks in the season finale. New York opened the season with Greg Zuerlein as their kicker, but he struggled with injuries and accuracy issues throughout the season. That being said, he is still under contract for one more season so he is likely to open 2025 as the Jets' kicker once again, leaving Joseph to pursue work elsewhere this offseason.

Saturday, January 4, 9:16 AM

Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates should benefit from the competitive, high-scoring nature of Sunday night's Week 18 contest against the Minnesota Vikings. With the NFC's No. 1 seed on the line, Detroit will stay highly competitive and keep its foot on the gas pedal for all 60 minutes. This bodes well for Bates, who has thrived in high-leverage situations all year long and benefits when the Lions put up a lot of points. In his first NFL season, Bates ranks eighth among all kickers in fantasy points. He has made a whopping 60 of 63 extra points, plus 25 of 28 field goals. He does have two missed field goals and two missed extra points over his last three games, but fantasy managers shouldn't have any concerns about his accuracy given his track record and high fantasy points total this season. Bates should be deployed as a top-five kicking option for the final week of the 2024 regular season.