3 FanDuel Kickers to Target in Week 3

In fantasy football, every point counts, and points are the only way you can win.

You need to maximize output from each and every player on your roster, and "punting" a position is never truly ideal. Sometimes in season-long leagues, you simply are stuck without any better options than who is on your roster already, but in daily fantasy football, where you are in control of every player you pick, there are no excuses.

So when you're making your lineups on FanDuel, don't leave kicker for last and choose whichever minimum-salary player fits in.

Move the position higher up on your priority list and learn to love the kicker. Start by targeting these three guys in Week 3.

Andrew Franks, Miami Dolphins

FanDuel Price: $4,500

Andrew Franks should be one of the highest-owned players on the main slate, though he is a kicker, so who truly knows?

Franks and the Miami Dolphins are 10-point favorites over the Cleveland Browns, who will be turning to rookie Cody Kessler under center. From 2013 to 2015, kickers with at least 1 attempt of any kind have averaged 8.9 FanDuel points per game when favored by at least 10 points. The average performance in that span has been 8.2 points. That might not sound like a big jump, but favorites of any level have averaged 8.7 points, and winning kickers have averaged 10.0 points.

It's not often that you find a 10-point favorite as a minimum-salary option, but expect Miami to be fine kicking field goals against the Browns in what should be gorgeous weather.

Dan Bailey, Dallas Cowboys

FanDuel Price: $4,700

Part of the reason why Franks should be highly owned is because there are no clear-cut options near the top of the salary pool. Yes, Steven Hauschka ($5,100) and the Seattle Seahawks are 9.5-point favorites over the San Francisco 49ers, but they've been the 29th-best offense in football, per our metrics. Mason Crosby ($4,700) could be seeing strong winds. Cairo Santos ($5,000) is only a three-point favorite. Simply put, there's no obvious option worth paying up for.

That gets us to Dan Bailey, whose Dallas Cowboys are 4.5-point favorites over the Brian Hoyer-led Chicago Bears. Our algorithm sees them winning 65% of the time, and they have the luxury of playing under a roof, avoiding potentially gross weather.

Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts

FanDuel Price: $4,700

At the same price as Bailey, you can roster Adam Vinatieri, whose team is only a 2.5-point favorite. However, those Indianapolis Colts are taking on a San Diego Chargers team in a game with an over/under of 51.5 points, highest on the main slate (which excludes the Monday night fireworks show between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints). On top of that, the Colts are at home, which is a plus, and play in a dome, another plus.

Indy's implied team total of 27 points puts them in a range (from 25.25 to 27) that has led to kickers to average 9.3 points from 2013 to 2015, too. The only fear with Vinatieri is that the Colts play catch up with the Chargers (we see the Colts winning just shy of 53% of the time) and don't settle for field goals, so you might want to save him for tournaments.