Who Should I Start? Matt Prater or Jake Bates
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Matt Prater News
Thursday, January 15, 3:53 PM
Buffalo Bills kicker Matt Prater (quadriceps, calf) has been cleared to kick in the Divisional Round this Saturday against his former team, the Denver Broncos. Prater was held out of Tuesday's practice, was a full-go on Wednesday, and was limited on Thursday. The 41-year-old veteran aggravated a quad injury in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the New York Jets, but he was active last weekend and handled field goals and extra points in the Wild-Card win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Prater made both of his field goals (one from 50-plus yards) and all three of his extra points against the Jags. He'll have the thin air in Denver to his advantage on Saturday, but at less than 100% in a tough matchup, Prater is on the lower end of kicking options this weekend. The Broncos allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game to placekickers in 2025.
Week 1 Projections
| Fant. Pts. |
Rush. Yds. |
Rush TD |
Rec. | Rec. Yds. |
Rec TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Jake Bates News
Wednesday, March 4, 3:20 PM
The Detroit Lions tendered a contract to exclusive-rights free-agent kicker Jake Bates, ensuring that he returns for the 2026 season, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Bates has gotten off to a nice start to his NFL career in two seasons with Detroit, making 84.1% of his 63 field-goal attempts while making 118 of his 123 extra-point tries in 34 games played. The 27-year-old Arkansas product has led the NFL in extra-point attempts and extra-point makes in each of the last two years while playing in one of the best offenses in the league. In 2025, he went 27-for-34 on field goals (4-for-9 from 50-plus yards) and 54-for-56 on extra points in 17 games played to finish as the No. 6 fantasy kicker in overall points. The Lions will have a new offensive coordinator in 2026, but they should still have a favorable offense, making Bates a clear top-10 fantasy target at the kicking position.
Matt Prater vs. Jake Bates
Still trying to decide between Prater and Bates? Check on the latest news to make sure both players are active and healthy. Our PPR projections show that Matt Prater is projected to score 0.0 points this week while Jake Bates is projected to score 0.0 points.
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