Who Should I Start? Wil Lutz or Rodrigo Blankenship

Monday, March 11, 5:21 PM

Despite a previous report saying that he was signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday, kicker Wil Lutz re-signed with the Denver Broncos on an undisclosed two-year deal, according to his agent, John Perla. Lutz will continue to kick for head coach Sean Payton, although moving to Jacksonville would have likely been much more lucrative for his 2024 fantasy value. The Broncos are in rebuilding mode and have moved on from quarterback Russell Wilson, which means their offense could struggle to get into field-goal range more often under Jarrett Stidham or another signal-caller. Lutz finished as the No. 18 fantasy kicker in 2023 by making 30 of his 34 field-goal tries and 29 of his 31 extra points. With Wilson now gone and an offense in flux, Lutz's fantasy ceiling and floor are likely going to be lower in his second year with the team.

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.