Fantasy Football Week 8 Kicker Streamers: Mike Badgley, Nick Folk, and More

I often talk about how fickle fantasy kickers are, but the process of finding streamers is pretty straightforward. As with any position, you look for the best matchups. How people define good matchups can differ.

I like to focus on teams that give up a lot of points. Fantasy points allowed to kickers is a random stat from week to week, and I generally don't put a lot of stock into it. I'm looking for bad defenses that allow points, giving the kickers a chance to get on the field. That's not exactly revolutionary, but at least it's defined.

It's a bonus if you can find a guy who also plays with a good offense (we have one of those below!), but beggars can't always be choosers. The idea here is to find lower-level fantasy players with good circumstances for a week.

Let's look at three kickers with good matchups in Week 8 who are widely available in fantasy leagues and can be picked up and inserted into your lineup. Most stats are from NFL.com.

Use FantasySP's weekly projections to identify the players expected to perform the best at each position.

Mike Badgley, Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans

Spencer Shrader was the top kicker in fantasy through four weeks while kicking for the most surprisingly dominant team of the first month. In an easy Week 5 matchup with the Raiders, Shrader kicked his second extra point of the first half and was contacted late, suffering a torn ACL and MCL in the process.

If this were a top running back going down, like Indy's Jonathan Taylor, there would have been a mad fantasy scramble to find the backup who was going to fill those reps. Instead, the Colts quietly signed Badgley the next week, and he is lightly owned in fantasy while kicking for one of the best offensive teams in football.

Badgley's ownership is likely to rise quickly, so this might be your last chance to grab a guy who could be a weekly starter. He hasn't gotten a ton of chances yet, making both of his field goal attempts and seven of his eight extra points. With a team that will likely continue to excel offensively, though, bigger games are likely coming.

The Titans offer a fantastic matchup, allowing the fifth-most points per game (27.4). Tennessee has a bad defense, and their pitiful offense often sets the D back even further, setting up the opposition with favorable field position.

When these teams played back in Week 3, Shrader made all five extra points and two of his three field goal attempts, as the Colts put 41 points on the board. This game is likely to follow a similar script, giving Badgley plenty of chances to kick. They also play in Indianapolis, where the dome creates perfect conditions.

Badgley is a player to pick up and maybe keep for the long haul. His offense has been nearly unstoppable at times, and there's nothing that makes it seem like that's about to change any time soon.

Nick Folk, New York Jets @ Cincinnati Bengals

If you're leery of the Jets' offense, I totally get it. I'm right there with you. New York has scored the fifth-fewest points per game, combining for just 17 over the past two weeks.

One of those games was against the tough Broncos, while last week came against the Panthers. It might seem like Carolina is an easy matchup, but the surprising 4-3 team is actually slightly better than average in points allowed.

That's not to say that the Jets have a good offense or even an average one, but they will have better games when the competition softens up. This is one of those instances of soft competition.

Cincinnati has allowed the second-most points per game and the most points overall. While all eyes are on Joe Flacco and whether he can save the team's season, the defense is bleeding points. Even with Joe Burrow under center, there would still be issues in Cincinnati.

Folk continues to be a steady hand, making all 14 of his field goals and all seven of his extra points this season. His 14 FGs are tied for fifth most; New York fits that axiom of finding a team that isn't good enough to score touchdowns so that their kicker gets more field goal attempts.

While the offense is a serious hindrance, the matchup is so good here that Folk is in line to get some opportunities. It's also getting to the time of year to start checking weather reports prior to game time in places like Cincinnati, as early winter weather could start any time.

Parker Romo, Atlanta Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins

I'm more excited about facing the Dolphins with fantasy players than any other team. That includes every position, even kicker and defense. Miami regularly looks like a dumpster fire; they just gave up 31 points to the Browns, though there was a pick-six involved.

The Dolphins are giving up 29.3 points per game, the fourth most in the league. It started in Week 1 against the Colts and has continued every game. Miami has given up at least 27 points in every game except for one (when the Jets scored 21).

Romo took over for the Falcons in Week 2 and has made all nine of his extra points and nine of 12 field goal attempts. He's fine, but Atlanta's offense is more of a problem, averaging the fifth-fewest points per game. That's likely to be an ongoing issue.

Atlanta is likely to do major damage against Miami, though, making Romo a strong fantasy player. He's not a weekly starter, but Romo is in line for a big game here against one of the worst teams in football.