Who Should I Start? Harrison Butker or Rodrigo Blankenship

Wednesday, September 4, 7:26 PM

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker will play against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season. This matchup will put two of the best kickers in the league against one another. Justin Tucker and Harrison Butker finished last season with 32 and 33 field goals, respectively, but Butker edged Tucker in the field goal percentage department. In 2023, Butker made 33 of his 35 field goal attempts and 38 of his 38 extra-point attempts. The Chiefs kicker will look to stay perfect in the extra-point department and build on his substantial 94.3% field goal percentage from last season. In the offseason, Kansas City offered Butker a four-year, $25.6 million extension, which included $17.75 million in guarantees. This move solidifies that the Chiefs believe in Butker as their kicker of the future. Butker is a weekly fantasy starter since the Chiefs have one of the best offenses in the NFL.

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.