Fantasy Football Week 4 Kicker Streamers: Matt Prater, Nick Folk, and More

Fantasy kicker performance is dependent on a lot of things: offense, opponent, weather, and plain old luck. It's the hardest position at which to project future fantasy production, so the best you can do is consider every factor and make your best guess, hoping for good fortune.

After three guys at the top, the kickers ranked fourth through 21st are all within 10 fantasy points of each other. That means a lot of guys have very similar value, allowing owners to find plenty of players on the free agent market.

Let's look at three kickers with good matchups in Week 4 who are widely available in fantasy leagues and can be picked up and inserted into your lineup. Be sure to check weather forecasts on Sunday morning or at least on Saturday to avoid major winds or rainstorms.

Check out FantasySP's waiver wire tool to find the players who have been added most by fantasy owners each week.

Matt Prater, Buffalo Bills vs. New Orleans Saints

Prater has seen his fantasy ownership increase in each of the past few weeks after joining Buffalo when starter Tyler Bass went on IR. He is still owned in fewer than 50% of leagues, though. A healthy Bass would be owned in virtually every league; this is more about the offense than the player in question.

Kicker fantasy scoring is generally inconsistent, but Prater is tied for K4, scoring double-digit fantasy points in the first two weeks and eight points in Week 3. Buffalo's offense is so good that they will regularly put their kicker in position to score points, setting him up for fantasy success.

Even though he might be replaced by Bass after Week 4, this matchup against the Saints is a juicy one for Prater to have success again. New Orleans might be the worst team in the league, and they are going to get beat often (they are already 0-3). They have allowed the seventh-most total points and the fourth-most fantasy points to kickers.

I like Prater as a one-week fill-in with the expectation to drop him if Bass does indeed return. That's fine; that's what fantasy streaming is all about. We can't get attached. Don't fall in love. Bass has a little availability, so he might be a sneaky pickup in next week's waivers or even late this week on the free agent market after you make your lineup decisions.

Nick Folk, New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins

Riley Patterson, Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets

We'll finish with two division rivals who face each other on Monday night in Miami. I was already joking that this could be the worst primetime game of the season, but it might turn out to be a high-scoring affair: Miami has allowed more points than any other team this year, and the Jets are tied for third, just four points behind the Dolphins.

They are both also in the top seven in most fantasy points allowed to kickers, showing plenty of vulnerability for our purposes here. I tend to gravitate toward the best offenses when looking for a kicker because I want a guy who will be in position to score, but this is something of an early Super Bowl for those who like watching bad defenses get dominated. I'm in on this game producing more points than most people will expect.

The 40-year-old Folk has continued his strong work, hitting nearly 85% of his field goals in his career. He has made all five attempts this season and all six extra points, not showing any signs of decline.

It makes sense to be wary of using Folk too often because the offense isn't guaranteed to be successful: the Jets scored 32 points in Week 1 and 27 in Week 3 but only 10 points in Week 2. Justin Fields is also questionable after missing Week 3 with a concussion, though the offense put up points with Tyrod Taylor under center.

Patterson is in the lineup because Miami's regular kicker, Jason Sanders, began the season on IR and can't return until next week. Patterson has done well in limited opportunities, making both of his field goals and all six of his extra points. Having such low usage makes him a risky fantasy play, so I can understand owners who prefer a stronger offense.

Miami has looked like one of the worst teams in the league so far, averaging just 18.7 points per game. Their eight-point outing in Week 1 was one of the shocks of the season and portended the struggles they have continued to have at times. I'm looking for the Dolphins to have more rough days, but against the bad defense of the Jets, things might look a little brighter.

This is a bet on the matchups. With both teams sporting bottom-10 defenses, there is a chance that points could get put on the board. With two offenses that are also suspect, the kickers could be involved early and often. These guys are both low-to-mid-level streamers.