Wil Lutz DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Athletic's Nick Kosmider writes that it's probably a no-brainer decision for the Denver Broncos to bring back veteran kicker Wil Lutz in 2025 despite the fact that he has no guaranteed money left on his current deal. If the Broncos wanted to, they could cut Lutz this offseason for a savings of at least $3 million with limited dead money left behind. Lutz is scheduled to make $3.89 million in 2025, but after being one of the most accurate and trustworthy kickers in the NFL this past season, it would be a surprise if the Broncos cut him. Not only does head coach Sean Payton have plenty of trust and history with Lutz, but Lutz also kicked for the New Orleans Saints under Darren Rizzi, who is likely to become Denver's next special teams coordinator. The 30-year-old finished as the No. 7 kicker in overall fantasy points by making 31 of his 34 field goal-attempts and all 46 of his extra points in 17 regular-season games.

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz was a top-10 fantasy kicker during the regular season, but we warned fantasy managers setting DFS lineups in playoff leagues to avoid him for the wild-card matchup in Buffalo against the Bills on Sunday. Hopefully you did, as Lutz didn't attempt a single field goal and made just one extra point in the 31-7 blowout loss at Orchard Park. Although the Broncos put up a dud to close out what was a successful 2024 season, the 30-year-old Lutz was money in the bank for Denver in his second year with the team. He made 91.2% of his 34 field-goal attempts in 17 regular-season games and didn't miss any of his 47 extra-point opportunities on the year. In his final eight games, Lutz made all 27 of his field goals and went 13-for-13 on extra points. With impressive QB Bo Nix leading Denver's offense moving forward, Lutz should easily be a top-12 fantasy kicking option this fall.

Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz was one of the most consistent fantasy kickers in 2024, making 31 of his 34 field-goal attempts and all 46 of his extra-point tries in 17 games to put him as the No. 7 fantasy kicker. Since having the potential game-winning kick blocked in Week 10 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Lutz has gone 13-for-13 on field goals and 27-for-27 on his extra-point attempts in seven games, so he's bringing a nice perfect streak into the wild-card playoff game in Buffalo against the Bills on Sunday. While the 30-year-old has been money for the Broncos, we'd suggest fading him on the road in frigid temperatures at Orchard Park in a game in which Denver is nearly 10-point underdogs. In addition, Buffalo allowed the third-fewest fantasy points per game (5.9) to opposing kickers in 17 games this season.