Who Should I Start? Matt Gay or Jake Bates

BENCH

Week 7 Projections

Fant.
Pts.		 Rush.
Yds.		 Rush
TD		 Rec. Rec.
Yds.		 Rec
TD
8.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Matt Gay News

Matt Gay in the Lead in Kicker Competition in Vegas

Friday, July 31, 11:38 AM

The Athletic's Sam Warren reported that kicker Matt Gay is in the lead for the Las Vegas Raiders' kicking competition. Additionally, Gay was perfect during practice today, while undrafted rookie Kansei Matsuzawa doinked one off the right upright from 40 yards away but made everything else. The two are competing to replace long-time Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson. Gay enters camp as the favorite to win the competition because of his NFL experience. However, Matsuzawa has an opportunity to win the kicking competition if he can perform consistently on deep kicks. Over the last few seasons, Gay has struggled on 50-plus-yard kicks with the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Commanders.

START

Week 7 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

Jake Bates a Solid Starting Kicker Option in Week 5

Friday, October 9, 7:51 PM

Across four games in 2026, Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates has connected on all seven of his field goal attempts and all 14 of his extra point tries. Bates had his best game of the young season in Week 4, converting four field goal attempts in Detroit's loss to the Carolina Panthers. In Week 5, Bates and the Lions will take on the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona has struggled to keep its opponents off the scoreboard in recent weeks, allowing at least 31 points in each of its last three games. Detroit has also been one of the NFL's highest-scoring offenses so far, averaging 29.8 points per game. In a potentially high-scoring Week 5 affair against the Cardinals, Bates profiles as a steady top-12 kicker for fantasy managers.

Matt Gay vs. Jake Bates

Still trying to decide between Gay and Bates? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Matt Gay is projected to score 8.2 points this week while Jake Bates is projected to score 8.6 points.