Greg Zuerlein

36-Year-Old KickerK

New York Jets

Injury Knee

Est. Return 12/8/2024

2024 Kicking Stats

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FGA

FG%

0.6

50+

Rest-of-Season Projections

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FG%

50+

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2024 Fantasy Outlook

Zuerlein's 12th NFL season in 2023 was perhaps his best effort since 2017, featuring a 92.1 percent conversion rate on 38 field-goal attempts (tied for third most). He went 5 of 6 from 50-plus yards and 13 of 14 in the 40-49 yard range, yet finished 15th among kickers in fantasy scoring thanks to an extraordinary lack of PATs (15 of 16). QB Aaron Rodgers should help balance that out for Zuerlein and the Jets in 2024, though the additional one-point attempts might come at the expense of some of his three-point tries. Zuerlein is 36 years old and has a middling 83.1 percent career conversion rate on field goals, but the strong showing in 2023 seemingly equates to job security entering 2024. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

#201.61

ADP

Overall

Kicker

Bye Week 12

Height 6'0"

Weight 195

DOB 12/27/1987

College Missouri Western

Drafted 6th Rd 2012 #171 Overall

Moves to IR

KNew York Jets

Knee

October 30, 2024

The Jets placed Zuerlein (knee) on injured reserve Wednesday.

ANALYSIS
Zuerlein, who has made nine of his 15 field-goal attempts through eight contests to date, will thus be sidelined until at least Week 14. The Jets signed Spencer Shrader and Riley Patterson to their practice squad Wednesday, and one of the two will presumably be elevated in advance of Thursday's game against the Texans to handle kicking duties in Zuerlein's stead.

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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Greg Zuerlein See More

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

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2012

Zuerlein is one of the league's better-known kickers despite a mediocre track record, hitting a career 82.1 percent on FGAs while converting only 55 percent from 50-plus yards. He has a strong leg and typically ranks among the league leaders in touchback rate on kickoffs, but accuracy on long field goals has never been especially impressive. Even so, Zuerlein has enjoyed numerous stints of fantasy relevance with high-powered offenses in Los Angeles and Dallas. He might get that chance again in his second season with the Jets, as QB Aaron Rodgers has been called in to lead an offense that added a pair of star rookies last year (WR Garrett Wilson, RB Breece Hall). Granted, Rodgers is 39 and Zuerlein is 35, so things could go wrong.

Zuerlein converted 29 of 35 field-goal attempts last season with the Cowboys, who then released him in March. The Jets immediately swooped in and signed Zuerlein to a one-year, $2.75 million contract to compete with the incumbent, Eddy Pineiro, who signed a similar one- year deal this offseason. Zuerlein's famous leg strength is an obvious plus, but he'll be attached to a questionable offense if he wins the job in New York.

We figured Zuerlein would kick a ton of extra points his first season in Dallas, but he instead led the league in field-goal attempts, as the Cowboys struggled to convert scoring chances into touchdowns after QB Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending injury. The ratio figures to shift back toward PATs in 2021, but that should still give Zuerlein a nice floor, with leg strength and team context both working in his favor. He did have offseason back surgery, but the Cowboys expect him to be ready for Week 1.

Most kickers are lucky to have one nickname, but Greg the Leg, a.k.a. Legatron, actually has two. He earned that honor with a 60 percent conversion rate from 50-plus yards during his time with the Rams. The move from L.A. to Dallas attaches Zuerlein to a better offense, but it comes with the caveat of job competition in the form of Kai Forbath. Zuerlein, though, has the larger contract and the stronger leg.

Greg the Leg led kickers in per-game fantasy scoring both of the last two seasons, converting 10 of 13 kicks from 50-plus yards. With the Rams retaining the core of their Super Bowl team, Zuerlein will see plenty of opportunities as long as he avoids the injuries that cost him five games last year and two the year before. His combination of leg strength and team context is unmatched.

Prior to suffering a herniated disc, Zuerlein was headed for the single-season kicker points record, both in real-life and fantasy terms. He's called "Greg the Leg" for good reason, but his career conversion rate on field goals is still only 82.9 percent after the near-perfect season. Zuerlein made a recovery from his back injury for the start of training camp, but he's likely to experience accuracy regression, and the Rams should turn some of those FGs into TDs.

Zuerlein was one of four kickers to play all 16 games and not miss a PAT last year. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the only positive from his season, as his 22 field-goal attempts were the third fewest in the league and his 80 points were the fewest among kickers who played at least 11 games. He had 10 games with one or zero field-goal attempts, and he kicked more than two PATS just four times. The accuracy bounced back from his atrocious 66.7 percent rate in 2015, but it doesn't seem that Zuerlein will get enough opportunities to be a viable fantasy option.

The Rams’ offense struggled greatly last season, and Zuerlein did nothing to help the cause, missing 10 of his 30 field-goal attempts, which tied for the worst conversion rate in the league. Known for his strong leg, six of Zuerlein’s 10 misses last year came from at least 50 yards, while he’s only hit 7 of 11 from between 40 and 50 in the last two years combined. The change to kicking outdoors in Los Angeles as opposed to the dome in St. Louis isn’t going to be a benefit, though the weather shouldn’t really be much of a concern. Ultimately, Zuerlein’s growth will come from hitting more of his attempts, and with that hardly a guarantee after three consecutive declines, he’s much closer to a dart throw than a sure thing.

Zuerlein kicked a career-high 92.9 percent in 2013, but he regressed last season closer to his rookie rate, finishing 26th in field-goal percentage. Part of that is due to attempting more long distance kicks last season, like he did as a rookie. In 2012, Greg the Leg was 7-of-13 from 50-plus yards, and last season he was 5-of-7. Sandwiched between is an odd 1-of-2 showing in 2013. Ultimately, he just didn't have enough scoring chances last season - St. Louis ranked 24th in red-zone drives with just 44 - as the offense was inconsistent after quarterback Sam Bradford was lost for the year in preseason. The Rams traded Bradford for Nick Foles this offseason, which should be an improvement over last year, at least.

The Rams didn’t afford many opportunities for Zuerlein to show off his impressive leg strength with just two attempts from 50-plus yards last season after he led the league with 13 as a rookie, but the stark improvement in his accuracy rate helped compensate for the dropoff. Zuerlein’s 92.9 percent mark from the field ranked fifth in the NFL, though he lagged much further behind the league leaders in both PATs and field goals made. The Rams didn’t do much in the offseason to supplement their middling offense, so Zuerlein will probably need to notice an uptick in long-distance attempts while maintaining his gains in accuracy in order to pump up his fantasy value.

A virtual unknown rookie from a D-II college, Zuerlein quickly established himself by converting the first 15 kicks of his pro career, including booming missiles from 56, 58 and 60 yards to set a franchise record. Zuerlein faded down the stretch by missing eight of his final 18 field goals, but it should be noted six of those misses came from beyond 50 yards. Coming off a league-leading 13 attempts from 50-plus in 2012 and with a favorable schedule that grants him 12 games in domes this season, Zuerlein will be especially valuable in leagues that award bonuses for long field goals. Outside of distance leagues, though, unless the Rams offense affords him more scoring opporunties (26 PAT, 31 FGA), his value his limited.

A sixth-round draft choice out of Division II Missouri Western State, Zuerlein is in line to take over the kicking duties after the Rams released veteran Josh Brown. Although Zuerlein is under the radar even to the most avid college football fans, he was impressive in his final college season, nailing an NCAA-record 21 consecutive field goals, including nine from 50-plus yards. Zuerlein will be aided by playing nine of his games in domes, but any advantage that confers should be undermined by the inept Rams offense, which ranked last in the NFL in scoring in 2011.

More Fantasy News

Dealing with left knee injury

KNew York Jets

Knee

October 29, 2024

Zuerlein was listed as a limited practice participant on Tuesday's estimated injury report with a left knee injury, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports.