Who Should I Start? Jake Bates or Tyler Loop

START

Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.		 Rush.
Yds.		 Rush
TD		 Rec. Rec.
Yds.		 Rec
TD
8.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Jake Bates News

Lions Officially Re-Sign Jake Bates

Wednesday, March 25, 1:35 PM

The Detroit Lions officially announced on Wednesday that they re-signed kicker Jake Bates to an undisclosed deal. Bates was an exclusive-rights free agent. The 27-year-old will return for his third season with the Lions in 2026. The former undrafted free agent out of Arkansas has become one of the more reliable kickers in fantasy football over the last couple of seasons in a Lions offense that should remain formidable in 2026. Last year in 17 games, Bates made 27 of his 34 field-goal tries (4-for-9 from 50-plus yards) and a league-high 54 extra points on 56 tries. He has made 84.1% of his 63 field-goal attempts in his two years in the NFL while succeeding on 95.9% of his 123 extra-point attempts. Bates was the No. 6 fantasy kicker in 2025. It also helps that half of his games come indoors, mitigating his volatility.

BENCH

Week 1 Projections

Fant.
Pts.		 Rush.
Yds.		 Rush
TD		 Rec. Rec.
Yds.		 Rec
TD
8.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Tyler Loop News

Tyler Loop Expected to be Ravens' Kicker for Week 1

Monday, August 31, 7:27 PM

Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter said that he expects Tyler Loop to be the team's kicker entering Week 1, according to Giana Han of The Baltimore Banner. However, Minter also said that the team is "trying to have all situations covered." It's unclear exactly what Minter means by this, but it's not the first time he's been a little iffy about Loop's job security. In recent days, he left the door open for the Ravens to bring in some competition at the kicker position. With that being said, it sounds like Loop will handle kicking duties for Week 1 against the Indianapolis Colts, barring any major surprises. Playing on a good team should bode well for his outlook as a fringe top-12 fantasy kicker, and he also comes with a decent track record after going 30-for-34 on field goals and 44-for-46 on extra points last year.

Jake Bates vs. Tyler Loop

Still trying to decide between Bates and Loop? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Jake Bates is projected to score 8.6 points this week while Tyler Loop is projected to score 8.3 points.