Week 9 Fantasy Football Must-Start Kickers: Jake Bates is Slated for Another Strong Fantasy Performance

The race to the Fantasy playoffs is heating up and picking the right kicker can be the difference between a win and a loss.

Fantasy managers can select any of these kickers and feel confident heading into their weekly matchup.

Bates and the Lions handed the Minnesota Vikings their first loss of the season and they look to carry the momentum into week 9. Bates takes on the Miami Dolphins, a matchup that provides a high-Fantasy floor for the Lions kicker.

The Lions' high-powered offense faces off against a Dolphins defense that allows 25.9 PPG, ninth-most in the NFL. The Lions will be able to move the ball and score against the Dolphins defense, which will lead to kicking opportunities for Bates. Bates will have plenty of field goal opportunities and extra point opportunities to bolster his Fantasy score.

Bates has been a consistent Fantasy option this season as the veteran kicker scored at least 7.0 Fantasy points in each contest. The Lions kicker has a season high of 18.0 Fantasy points and Bates could match it this week thanks to his favorable matchup.

JAKE BATES WINS IT FOR THE LIONS

Gay established himself as a trustworthy Fantasy option as kicker this season. Gay has six games of top-12 weekly positional finishes and looks to continue the trend against the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers allow an average of 2.6 field goal attempts per game and the average has spiked up recently as the NFC West outfit allow three field goal attempts per game in the last three games. The increased volume led to Fantasy success for opposing kickers as the 49ers allow 10.3 FPPG to kickers, fifth-most in the league.

On top of the 49ers allowing a hefty amount of volume to kickers, Gay and the Raiders manufacture plenty of field goal attempts themselves. The Raiders struggle to score in the red zone, scoring a touchdown at a 53% clip. The AFC West outfit are one of the top teams to travel to the red zone as their 4 red zone drives per game is fifth-most in the NFL. Gay will have plenty volume in this matchup thanks to the 49ers allowing a multitude of fiel goal attempts and the Raiders' struggles to score touchdowns in the red zone.

From the source 200th career field goal for Matt Gay 👏#LVvsNYJ | 📺 FOX

Stevens is coming off a career-best 16.0 Fantasy points performance in the Commanders' 27-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Stevens nailed four field games in the game, including a 56-yard make. The rookie looks to carry the momentum against the Los Angeles Rams, who give up volume to opposing kickers.

The Rams allow 3 field goal attempts per game, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for most in the NFL. In their last three games, the number spikes for the Rams as they allowed 4.3 field goal attempts per games. Stevens showed last week he can handle the volume and should be in for a productive Fantasy day against the Rams.