Who Should I Start? Harrison Butker or Chase McLaughlin

Sunday, December 31, 12:21 AM

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker joined in on the team's uncharacteristic woes in last Monday's 20-14 loss to the division-rival Las Vegas Raiders, sinking both of his extra-point attempts but missing his lone field-goal try. Butker had been flawless on kicks from last year's Super Bowl up until Week 14 of this season, but the 28-year-old has now missed two boots in his last two weeks. With K.C.'s scuffling offense netting just 19.4 points per game through their last eight contests, Butker has secured a single-digit fantasy outcome just twice over this period. The Chiefs next welcome in the Cincinnati Bengals, who have surrendered the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing kickers on the campaign. Butker should be treated as a top-10 choice in Sunday's plus draw for title-hopeful fantasy rosters.

Monday, March 11, 5:15 PM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers agreed to an undisclosed three-year deal to re-sign kicker Chase McLaughlin on Monday, according to a source. McLaughlin will stay with the Buccaneers after going 29-for-31 on his field-goal attempts and 33-for-33 on his extra points in 17 regular-season games. The 27-year-old's success rate on field goals last year set a new single-season record, so it's no wonder why Tampa wanted the kicker back for another go-round in 2024 as their primary kicker. From a fantasy perspective, McLaughlin finished as the No. 16 kicker in terms of overall fantasy points in 2023. The Bucs offense should remain largely the same this year with quarterback Baker Mayfield and top wideout Mike Evans sticking around, so McLaughlin should enter the year as a matchup-based streamer at the kicking position in fantasy.