Top-10 upside fantasy kickers for 2025 are laid out with clear paths to weekly points and fantasy-season impact. Brandon Aubrey anchors the list after a 192-point 2024; Cameron Dicker provides high-volume, reliable scoring from 42 field goal attempts; Jake Bates and Chase McLaughlin offer steady floor with multiple double-digit weeks. Daniel Carlson and Wil Lutz bring proven accuracy and indoor-friendly environments, while Ka'imi Fairbairn pairs range with Houston’s indoor-friendly schedule. Matt Gay stabilizes Washington’s kicking game after a carousel of 2024, and Chris Boswell remains a veteran anchor in Pittsburgh. Cameron Little adds late-round upside in Jacksonville, with Cam Little’s long range showing a ceiling that could tilt some weeks. The piece emphasizes venue, scoring opportunities, and offense quality as the core driver of fantasy kicker value in 2025.

Indoors, chassis-friendly offenses, and field-position advantages drive the upside, but volume and the ability to convert from 50-plus yards separate the top tier from the rest. Expect some volatility—kickers are game-script dependent—but the leaders provide a blend of high range, reliability, and week-to-week upside that fantasy managers crave in kicking-heavy leagues. This guide helps you target early, but also identifies sleepers who could explode in favorable home environments or shootout weeks.

Cam Little blasted a 70-yard field goal to close out the first half of Jacksonville's preseason win over Pittsburgh, a kick that wowed fans and underscored his league-ready leg. It isn’t an official NFL record in the preseason, but it raised the chatter about Little’s ceiling as Jacksonville’s youngster with serious range. The next day, former Razorback teammate Jake Bates followed with a 57-yarder for Detroit against Atlanta, signaling the SEC-to-NFL kicker pipeline remains active in early August.

Little, a Moore, Oklahoma native and Arkansas’ all-time most accurate kicker (82.8%), was a sixth-round pick in 2024 who thrived in his first NFL season, going 27-of-29 on field goals (93.1%), with a long of 59 and 108 total points, plus 65 touchbacks on kickoffs. His college resume also highlights PFWA Freshman All-American and Freshman All-SEC honors. The Jaguars’ rookie year and preseason spark suggest his long-range potential could shape Jacksonville’s kicking decisions this fall, especially in scenarios demanding distance and clutch accuracy.

Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp of the Detroit Lions is expressing enthusiasm for the NFL's new kickoff rules, which are designed to decrease the number of touchbacks by incentivizing teams to kick shorter. This season, the ball will be placed on the 35-yard line for touchbacks, setting the stage for more aggressive kickoff strategies. Kicker Jake Bates recorded a touchback rate of 77.3% in his rookie year, and with the new rules, Fipp anticipates a significant change in kickoff dynamics.

The Lions aim to leverage this rule change to create more scoring opportunities and enhance their overall game strategy. Fipp's aggressive approach could position the Lions to capitalize on field position and potentially shift the momentum in games, making their special teams unit one to watch this season.

Spring leagues like the UFL have become fertile ground for football talent, enabling players to transition to the NFL. Among the standout performers are Brandon Aubrey of the Dallas Cowboys, who has set an NFL record with 35 consecutive field goals, and Jake Bates of the Detroit Lions, who has been highly accurate as a kicker.

Kavontae Turpin, also a Cowboy, has established himself as a dual threat on special teams and as a receiver, while edge rusher Dondrea Tillman is making an impact with the Denver Broncos. Other notable players include Jalen Redmond of the Vikings and Jeremiah Pharms Jr. with the Patriots, both contributing significantly to their teams' defenses.