Fantasy football: Week one starts, sits, pickups and drops

Kickers

Start: Justin Tucker

Sit: i don’t know your backup i guess

Pickup: the principles of just governance

Drop: lint

I love kickers. Kickers also mean next to nothing in fantasy football.

Maybe I like kickers because it was the only position I could realistically see myself playing when I was a kid. I’ve always been fascinated by special teams and field goals are legitimately my favorite football game mechanic. When I would play Madden as a kid I would kick field goals in practice mode for hours, just to see what my kicker’s range was and make sure I could reach it consistently.

I won a lot of games of Madden in college because of all that practice.

Also, special teams in AFL: Road to Glory made that game one of the best ever and I want EA to bring it back more than I want a new college football game (don’t @ me).

Anyway.

I also curse kickers.

I like drafting rookie kickers because drafting a good kicker is like throwing darts. So I try my luck by drafting some new guy and seeing how he does. In 2014, that guy was Nate Freese, who I was rather bullish on. In 2015, Kyle Brindza latched on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after a good preseason with the Lions. I was confident in him as well. In 2016, I bought the Roberto Aguayo hype (although even I knew drafting him the second round was ridiculous).

So, Zane Gonzalez, best of luck.

I’m not writing about fantasy football kickers anymore.

Next: Lions vs. Cardinals - What to watch for

Defenses

Picking a defense isn’t hard, but it is a crapshoot. Looking for good defenses is fine, but even mediocre defenses score points against bad teams. Don’t worry about holding on to your defense unless they’re like the 1985 Bears or something.

Start: whoever is playing the Jets (Buffalo)

Sit: whoever is playing the Patriots (Kansas City)

Pickup: see “Start”

Drop: see “Sit”