Evan McPherson
McPherson remains Cincinnati's clear kicker but his weekly fantasy value has swung hard with the Bengals offense's inconsistency, going from a low-volume, low-scoring stretch to a career-high six-field-goal outburst against Baltimore, with analysts now leaning bullish again for a Week 17 matchup against a weak Cardinals defense.
Role
Full-time placekicker and extra-point man with no competition for the job; his volume is entirely dictated by how often Cincinnati's offense stalls in scoring range rather than punching in touchdowns, so his workload rides on the Bengals' overall scoring drives and red-zone efficiency each week.
He's shown he can be a top-scoring kicker in a good matchup, evidenced by a career-high six field goals against Baltimore in Week 13, and analysts view him as a strong start against a soft Arizona defense with the Bengals expected to score plenty.
Through the first six games he ranked just 36th among kickers with only 5.5 fantasy points per game on 6-of-8 field goals, and he's been quiet the past three weeks with only one attempt in that span, suggesting his opportunities can dry up fast when the Bengals' offense finishes drives with touchdowns or stalls entirely.
Where analysts split
The real question is whether Cincinnati's offense produces the kind of stop-start, field-goal-heavy drives that spike McPherson's volume (as it did in the Ravens game) or trends toward touchdowns/limited chances (as in the recent quiet stretch), making him hard to project on a week-to-week basis despite the encouraging Week 17 outlook.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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