Who Should I Start? Wil Lutz or Rodrigo Blankenship

Friday, September 22, 12:23 AM

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz bounced back in the Week 2 loss to the Washington Commanders after missing a field goal and an extra point in a one-point loss in the season opener. In the loss to Washington, Lutz made both of his field goals and all three of his extra-point tries. Through two games, he's tied for 20th among NFL kickers with 13 fantasy points. The 29-year-old benefitted by quarterback Russell Wilson turning back the clock with a 300-yard passing game and three touchdowns last week, but it remains to be seen if that was more of a fluke or a regular occurrence under new head coach Sean Payton this year. Heading on the road to Miami this Sunday to take on the Dolphins, Lutz will be in streaming consideration in deeper fantasy leagues.

Monday, August 21, 6:14 PM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers waived kicker Rodrigo Blankenship on Monday. Blankenship lost the kicking battle to Chase McLaughlin in training camp this summer and will now look to latch on with another team before the start of the 2023 regular season. The 26-year-old spent last year with the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals, going 4-for-5 on his field-goal tries and 4-for-5 on extra points in just three total games. As long as Tampa doesn't bring in more competition for McLaughlin to close out the preseason, he should enter Week 1 as the team's starting kicker. McLaughlin, 27, made 83.3 percent of his 36 field-goal attempts and made all 21 of his extra-point tries in 16 games with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022. The kicking position in Tampa won't be as exciting in fantasy now that Tom Brady isn't running the offense in 2023.