Who Should I Start? Harrison Butker or Rodrigo Blankenship

Saturday, January 4, 11:43 AM

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker will face the Denver Broncos in Week 18. Butker knocked through his only field goal attempt in Week 17 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Chiefs kicker also nailed two extra-point attempts in that contest. Butker will now face the Broncos in Denver. Given the strength of the Broncos defense and the lack of Patrick Mahomes in the offense, Butker could be asked to shoulder more of the scoring load. Butker is ranked as the 20th-best kicker this week, putting him outside of start-worthy range for most leagues. The Chiefs offense could be inept without several key starters, making Butker a risky play this week.

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.