Who Should I Start? Joey Slye or Ramiz Ahmed

Sunday, January 5, 10:28 PM

New England Patriots kicker Joey Slye went 2-for-2 on extra points and 3-for-3 on field goals during Sunday's Week 18 win over the Buffalo Bills. He converted field goals from 41, 42, and 50 yards out. The 28-year-old finished as a top-24 fantasy kicker this season, demonstrating impressive power but dealing with accuracy issues and handling reduced opportunities on a Patriots team that struggled to score points. All in all, he finished the 2024 campaign with 95.8 percent accuracy on extra points and 78.8 percent accuracy on field goals. This season was far from a disaster, and Slye did provide more stability in 2024 than Chad Ryland did as a rookie with the Patriots in 2023. Still, the Patriots may look to bring in a different kicker as they head into the 2025 campaign. Slye is slated to hit free agency in March.

Saturday, August 10, 7:37 PM

Washington Commanders kicker Ramiz Ahmed went 1-for-1 on his field goal attempts and 2-for-2 on his extra-point attempts on Saturday afternoon. His field goal attempt came from 40 yards out. This is important to note because Riley Patterson missed his lone field goal try from 39 yards out. Brandon McManus was originally brought in during free agency to serve as the starting kicker in D.C. but was let go in June due to being involved with a civil lawsuit. As a result, this opened up a competition between Ahmed and Patterson, and after the team's first preseason game, Ahmed may be in the lead. Patterson does have more experience in the NFL and has gone 59-for-67 throughout the first four seasons of his career. Ahmed made only one NFL appearance back in 2022 with the Green Bay Packers and moved on to play for the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL last spring. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor this competition as the winner could be fantasy-relevant, especially if rookie Jayden Daniels is able to adjust to the NFL fairly quickly and move the Washington offense downfield on a consistent basis.