Who Should I Start? Younghoe Koo or Tyler Bass

Wednesday, December 18, 1:04 PM

The Atlanta Falcons are placing kicker Younghoe Koo (undisclosed) on Injured Reserve on Wednesday, according to a source. In a corresponding move, the Falcons have signed kicker Riley Patterson off the Cleveland Browns practice squad and onto their 53-man active roster. Koo is now out for the rest of the season and would be unavailable to kick in the wild-card round of the playoffs if the Falcons get into the postseason. The 30-year-old suffered an undisclosed injury in the Monday night win over the Las Vegas Raiders and will now go on the shelf. Normally a very reliable kicker, Koo struggled with accuracy in 2024, making 25 of his 34 field-goal attempts, although he made all 26 of his extra points. Patterson will now fill in heading into a Week 16 contest against the New York Giants. With rookie QB Michael Penix Jr. making his first career start, fantasy managers will want to steer clear of Patterson.

Saturday, December 21, 9:42 AM

Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass is worth starting in most fantasy football leagues ahead of his matchup against the New England Patriots in Week 16. The 27-year-old ranks ninth in fantasy points among kickers this year, going 50-for-54 on extra points and 21-for-26 on field goals. Even amidst some accuracy concerns on field goals, Bass has been able to rack up the scoring with an excessively high number of extra points. He has drilled 17 extra points over his last three games as the Bills continue to find the end zone at a rapid pace. That should continue this week against the New England Patriots. While New England ranks near the middle of the league in terms of fantasy points allowed to kickers this year, they have surrendered an average of 2.7 touchdowns per game (eighth-most in the NFL), which means that scoring opportunities won't be too hard to come by for Bass. He should be deployed as a top-10 kicker in Week 16.