The Jets’ defense allowed the red zone opportunities we anticipated in their Week 5 matchup against the Chargers. Sadly, for those who streamed Nick Novak, Gang Green only stopped San Diego from punching it into the end zone once in their blowout victory.
Nocak was limited to seven fantasy points while our streamer of the week, Mike Nugent, was the victim of haywire game flow that foiled any chance of decent production as New England stomped on the Bengals early and often.
Hopefully you rolled with Eagles kicker Cody Parkey, who continued his consistent 2014 campaign with 10 fantasy points in Philly’s win over St. Louis. Parkey now has four double-digit fantasy performances in five games as an Eagle.
I wouldn’t begrudge anyone for committing to Parkey as an every-week option. He’s fantasy’s No. 2 kicker, with a legit shot at being the game’s top option by season’s end. Philadelphia is averaging 3.2 red zone scoring opportunities per game, and they’re converting just 37.5 percent of those chances into touchdowns.
We’re still going to incorporate red zone stop rate, especially as the season wears on and sample sizes become more reliable, but we’re going to continue to de-emphasize an opposing defense’s red zone success if Vegas projections tell us a kicker’s game script is likely to be positive.
Here are three kickers I’m targeting everywhere in Week 6.
Cody Parkey (PHI) vs. New York Giants
Here’s our guy, Parkey, who will once again play in a game Vegas projects to be among the week’s highest scoring affairs. We know that the Eagles, thanks in large part to their lackluster running attack, aren’t scoring a whole lot of touchdowns in the red zone. Even better, the Giants are allowing red zone touchdowns only 46 percent of the time through five games.
The Rotoviz Streaming Kicker app is bullish on Parkey’s Week 6 prospects too. The Eagles are averaging 2.2 field goal attempts per contest — only eight teams average more attempts through five weeks. Parkey is still available in 53 percent of leagues.
Dan Carpenter (BUF) vs. New England Patriots
The Rotoviz Streaming Kicker app has Carpenter pegged as a top-5 Week 6 options against a Patriots defense that has allowed touchdowns on 47 percent of their opponents’ red zone possessions. That’s the sixth best mark in the league.
Buffalo’s three field goal attempts per game is the second highest in the NFL this season, and Carpenter — fantasy’s No. 3 kicker — has made 13 field goals on the season. I think Kyle Orton is a boon for everyone in the Bills’ offense, including Carpenter in a matchup that isn’t nearly as unfavorable as it might seem.
Matt Bryant (ATL) vs. Chicago Bears
Bryant has been quiet in 2014, failing to crack double digits in a single game, but he’s hard to turn down in a matchup with Chicago that Vegas has deemed the highest-scoring contest of Week 6. Bryant is 6-for-7 on field goal attempts through five weeks as the Falcons have proved efficient in scoring touchdowns in the red zone.
Chicago is allowing touchdowns on 52 percent of opponents’ red zone opportunities — a middle-of-the-road mark that might not matter a whole lot in a back-and-forth affair like this one should be. Teams are averaging 2.5 field goal tries per contest against the Bears. Only five teams see more weekly field goal attempts against them.
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