Who Should I Start? Ramiz Ahmed or Jake Bates

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.

Friday, January 17, 1:49 AM

Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates has never appeared in an NFL playoff game before, but he already ranks as the No. 1 overall kicker in RotoBaller's Divisional Round fantasy rankings. His highly anticipated performance against the Washington Commanders on Saturday is the result of an impressive regular season in which he scored the seventh-most fantasy points among kickers. He missed just three field-goal attempts, and the Lions' incredibly potent offense put him in position to make a whopping 64 extra points. Also working in his favor is a somewhat favorable matchup against the Commanders, who surrendered two field goals to Chase McLaughlin last week, including one from 50 yards out. All in all, Bates is this week's top fantasy kicker thanks to his accuracy, power, and role on a dominant Lions team.