Who Should I Start? Jake Bates or Harrison Mevis

Saturday, December 13, 12:31 AM

Although Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates saw his streak of four straight games without a missed field goal come to an end in Week 14, he still knocked in three out of four field goal attempts and all five of his extra point tries in Detroit's win over the Dallas Cowboys. Bates remains the current NFL leader in both extra-point attempts (47) and makes (45) through 14 weeks. In Week 15, the Lions will travel to Los Angeles to take on the Rams. The Lions and Rams enter the week as two of the NFL's top teams in points per game, so this game could have shootout potential. Additionally, playing indoors at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium eliminates any potential issues Bates might have with the weather. Fantasy managers can view Bates as a must-start fantasy kicker in Week 15.

Friday, December 12, 11:55 PM

Los Angeles Rams kicker Harrison Mevis has been a high-volume option ever since joining the team, but the vast majority of his kicks have been extra points rather than field goals. Since extra points account for just one point in most fantasy leagues, managers might expect that Mevis' fantasy output has been relatively low. In reality, though, he has kicked so many extra points and has been accurate enough that he remains firmly on the fantasy radar for Week 15 against the Detroit Lions. In five games with the Rams, he is 23-for-23 on extra points and 3-for-3 on field goals. Just last week alone, he converted seven kicks (six extra points and one field goal). The biggest drawback for Mevis is that the Rams have scored more touchdowns than field goals, and even when they do get a fourth-down situation in field-goal range, they're not afraid to keep the offense on the field. This has kept Mevis' floor low, but at the same time, he arguably has one of the highest ceilings among all fantasy kickers. After all, if the Rams start kicking more field goals, Mevis could jump to the top tier of fantasy kickers. As it stands, he continues to rank quite high. He's the #5 kicker in this week's RotoBaller fantasy football rankings.