Who Should I Start? Tyler Bass or Jake Bates

Friday, August 15, 12:58 PM

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott said that kicker Tyler Bass (pelvis) is "moving in the right direction," and the team is trying to be smart with him so he doesn't suffer a setback. The goal is for Bass to kick in the third preseason game next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Maddy Glab of BuffaloBills.com reports that Bass will be limited in Friday's training camp practice. The Bills will hold the 28-year-old out of the second preseason game on Sunday against the Chicago Bears as a precaution. Barring a setback, it sounds like he'll be good to go for the Week 1 regular-season opener, where he'll be in play as a low-end starting fantasy kicker in 12-team leagues. Bass has made exactly 24 of his 29 field-goal attempts in each of the last two years in Buffalo. He's been steady but just hasn't had enough chances to make him a high-end fantasy option at his position.

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.