Who Should I Start? Joey Slye or Charlie Smyth

Friday, October 18, 12:39 PM

New England Patriots kicker Joey Slye has not been a dependable fantasy option over the last two weeks, but he could generate some streaming appeal in deeper leagues for Week 7. This Sunday, Slye will kick against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Given that the Jaguars have allowed the second-most points per game this season, the Patriots should have plenty of scoring opportunities, opening the way for Slye to get involved. Furthermore, the New England offense has shown additional signs of life ever since benching Jacoby Brissett for Drake Maye. Brissett averaged just 0.4 passing touchdowns per game as the Patriots' starter while Maye threw for three touchdowns in his first career start last weekend. Between a favorable matchup and the Patriots offense's upward trajectory, Slye becomes a fringe top-12 fantasy option at the kicker position. He's worth considering if your primary kicker is injured or on a bye week.

Sunday, August 25, 6:35 PM

New Orleans Saints kicker Charlie Smyth (groin) didn't suit up during Sunday's preseason contest against the Tennessee Titans. The rookie kicker has been dealing with an ongoing groin issue since Friday. Head coach Dennis Allen said that the team wanted to play it safe and hold Smyth out of this game. In his absence, Blake Grupe handled the kicking duties during the preseason finale. He connected on both his field goal attempts and made all three of his extra point attempts as well. It remains to be seen which kicker the team decides to ride with into the regular season. Grupe is probably the favorite after making 30-of-37 field goal attempts and all 40 extra point attempts during his rookie season with the Saints in 2023.