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Lions kickers

Badgley out for season

The Lions kicking competition seems to be over before it began. What was going to be a battle between former college soccer player and UFL kicker Jake Bates (pictured with Houston last August) and veteran Michael Badgley goes to Bates. Badgley has a torn hamstring and will be placed on IR, knocking him out for the season.

Longtime Index readers know that one of the key selling points for a kicker in our eyes is being on a team that wins. On average, teams finish with more kicking points in wins than losses, which makes sense -- you're scoring more points overall, and you're also more able to settle for field goals if you're winning by a touchdown than losing by that many. With the Lions looking like one of the league's best teams, it makes sense that their kicker, which today is far more likely to be Bates than it was yesterday, would be one of the league's best players at the position.

However, the Lions have been an exception in this regard. Either because their offense is especially good at finishing drives with touchdowns rather than field goals, or because aggressive-minded Dan Campbell doesn't like settling for field goals, or some combination of the two, the Lions last year were one of the least productive kicking teams, even while having one of the best records.

Detroit went 12-5 last year, winning the NFC North, and yet finished in the bottom 5 in kicking points. Nobody attempted fewer field goals than they did (21), which was three fewer than any other team. Table sorted by kicking points.

TEAM KICKING, 2023
. TeamFGFGAXPXPAPts
Dallas36384952157
Baltimore32375152147
Seattle35423333138
Kansas City33353838137
Chicago35383133136
Philadelphia30324546135
Indianapolis33413536134
Houston34383133133
Cleveland34373033132
Miami24285859130
New Orleans30374040130
LA Chargers31333535128
LA Rams32433237128
Jacksonville30373535125
NY Jets36391617124
Atlanta32372728123
San Francisco21256061123
Buffalo24294950121
Tampa Bay29313333120
Denver30342931119
Cincinnati26314040118
Green Bay27333439115
Tennessee29302830115
Pittsburgh29312728114
Las Vegas26303232110
Minnesota24303638108
Arizona28332223106
Detroit19214852105
Carolina2530172092
NY Giants2231242590
Washington1924323589
New England1625242572

Maybe the Lions roll with Bates into the regular season, or maybe they bring in competition. But it requires a leap of faith to think that whoever they go will be a viable option in fantasy leagues.

--Andy Richardson

Fantasy Index