Fantasy Football Kicker Rankings 2025: Brandon Aubrey, Chase McLaughlin, And More

I don't like to brag. No one likes a braggart.

Also, I'm assuming that a braggart is, in fact, one who brags—but I haven't bothered to look it up because I'm so busy adjusting my kicker rankings.

Anyway, I don't like to brag—and this is truly nothing to brag about—but in 2018 I had the No. 1 redraft kicker rankings in the industry.

Occasionally, my friends still bring it up to make fun of me.

To the point: Because I once, almost a lifetime ago, had certifiably excellent kicker rankings, I am now viewed—at least within the Fantasy Life community—as something of a kicker aficionado, as someone who actually thinks kickers are … people.

And, look, I'll admit it: This summer, our data team spent actual time researching kicking trends, revamping our projection process, and creating field goal and extra point projections for the upcoming season.

As a result, I've been asked to write a piece on kickers.

This is that piece.

On the one hand, I can't believe I'm writing this piece. On the other hand, I can't believe I get to write this piece—and who am I to refuse the people what they obviously want?

So here are my thoughts on several kickers who stand out to me this year—as well as some preliminary thoughts on what I look for when researching, ranking, projecting, and drafting kickers.

To access my 2025 redraft kicker rankings—as well as our season-long kicker projections—

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How to Evaluate Kickers for Fantasy Football

As Ian Hartitz pointed out on social media recently—see, I'm not the only nerd who researches kickers!—the correlation between offensive scoring and kicking production is basically nonexistent … and it's actually (slightly) negative.

So it's not as if you must draft a kicker on an elite offense to get top-tier production from the position.

Instead, I suggest you focus on the following:

Offenses that are good enough to move the ball, but might struggle in the red zone.
Head coaches or offensive playcallers who don't mind settling for field goals.
Kickers who have exhibited the ability to convert from 40+ and 50+ yards.

While I don't mind cutting kickers in order to stream the position, my goal is to think about kickers as little as possible during the season so I can instead think about, you know, stuff that matters … like which movie to play in the background while I rank kickers.

With that in mind, I place a premium on drafting guys who (at least in my perspective) have relatively high floors. Phrased differently: I value kickers who are unlikely to lose me matchups.

What does this mean? In ranking, projecting, and drafting kickers, I don't strive to be perfect. Instead, I try to be "good enough" … or at least not drastically wrong.

That said, let's look at some kickers.

Brandon Aubrey, Cowboys

Rank: K1
Projection: K1
ADP: K1

For good reason, Brandon Aubrey is the kicking leader in consensus average draft position (per our excellent Fantasy Life ADP Tool).

For his career, he has an outstanding 89.4% FG rate (the league average last year was 84.0%), and he has nailed double-digit kicks from 50+ yards in each of his two NFL seasons.

I think this fact puts his place atop rankings, projections, and ADP in context: Last year, he had NFL-high marks with 47 FG attempts and a 65-yard conversion. Aubrey's volume/power combo is almost unrivaled.

Chase McLaughlin, Buccaneers

Rank: K4
Projection: K2
ADP: K6

Chase McLaughlin was a journeyman for his first four years in the league, and during that time he underwhelmed with a 78.8% FG rate … but he also flashed promise by connecting on 17 of 21 from 50+ yards.

And in the two years since, McLaughlin has extended his deep accuracy to all areas of the field, as evidenced by his impressive 93.7% FG rate with the Bucs.

Although he has only 59 FGs made since 2023, McLaughlin has at least gotten 18 attempts from 50+ yards as well as 89 XP tries, and that kind of usage gives him a solid floor.

Matt Gay, Commanders

Rank: K8
Projection: K4
ADP: K15

Last year, under new HC Dan Quinn, the Commanders were No. 4 in FG attempts with 42.

Quinn was fired from the Falcons after Week 5 in 2020, but in his previous HC stint, only once did his teams finish with fewer than 30 FG attempts in a 16-game season, and more than a few times his teams finished in the top 10.

2020: 40 (No. 2)
2019: 40 (No. 1)
2018: 26 (No. 24)
2017: 39 (No. 7)
2016: 37 (No. 6)
2015: 31 (No. 15)

Despite being a 2021 Pro Bowler, Matt Gay has a modest career FG rate of 85.5%, but he has attempted at least nine kicks from 50+ yards in each of the past three years—and before last season's disastrous 3-of-9 showing, his previous career mark of 69.4% from deep was satisfactory (last year the league average from 50+ yards was 69.9%).

If Quinn continues to display a propensity for settling for FGs, Gay could have a bounceback Pro Bowl campaign in 2025.

Joshua Karty, Rams

Rank: K17
Projection: K10
ADP: K20

My ranking on Joshua Karty trails our projections—because there's only so much I'm willing to trust a second-year kicker who had an unexceptional 85.3% FG rate as a rookie—but I'm still ahead of his ADP. Last year he was a pleasant 6-of-7 kicking from 50+ yards, and there are a few notable factors in his favor.

He is in a good offense.
He plays home games at the indoor SoFi Stadium.
HC Sean McVay has proven himself to be one of the league's kicker-friendliest decision makers.

Throughout his Rams tenure, McVay's teams have literally never had fewer than 30 FG attempts, and only once have they been outside the top half in the league.

2024: 34 (No. 16)
2023: 43 (No. 1)
2022: 30 (No. 25)
2021: 34 (No. 9)
2020: 30 (No. 16)
2019: 33 (No. 12)
2018: 41 (No. 2)
2017: 43 (No. 2)

As long as Karty sticks with the Rams, I expect him to have a solid week-to-week floor—and his ceiling could be higher than most people expect.

Players Mentioned in this Article

BrandonAubrey
KDAL
PPG
16.00
ChaseMcLaughlin
KTB
PPG
16.11
Proj
9.96
MattGay
KWAS
PPG
11.11
Proj
9.80
JoshuaKarty
KLAR
PPG
11.00
Proj
9.30