Start Chase McLaughlin over Andy Borregales — Week 1 Start/Sit Verdict

Start McLaughlin — the projection and consensus rank edges are too wide to ignore.

Chase McLaughlin projects 8.4 to Borregales's 6.9 and is the higher consensus play (K15 to K19). Borregales's edge is red-zone opportunity, 1.6 to 1.4 stalls per game. The gap is comfortable.

Andy Borregales

K19NEvs SEA

6.96.96.9 Projected Points

Sit

Chase McLaughlin

K15TBvs CIN

8.48.48.4 Projected Points

Toss-Up

Why Andy Borregales

Sit

Starting placekicker. Strong-legged kickoff and field-goal specialist.

Sit — K19 by consensus, projects K32 this week: 1.6 red-zone stalls a game, and 6.9 pts projected vs SEA.

1.8 FG tries projected, just under the 2.0 league median this week.
NE's offense stalls in the red zone 1.6 times a game (2025) — that's where kicker points come from.
Vegas has NE at 20.5 points as 3.5-point dogs.
84% on field goals (2025), with a 50-plus make in 4 games.

Why Chase McLaughlin

Toss-Up

Veteran starting placekicker. Reliable leg with strong field-goal accuracy.

Toss-up — K15 consensus and projection: 1.4 red-zone stalls a game, and 8.4 pts projected vs CIN.

2.0 FG tries projected, right at the 2.0 league median this week.
TB's offense stalls in the red zone 1.4 times a game (2025) — that's where kicker points come from.
Vegas has TB at 23.5 points as 3.5-point dogs.
84% on field goals (2025), with a 50-plus make in 7 games.

Head-to-head stats

Metric	Andy Borregales	Chase McLaughlin
Projected points	6.96.96.9	8.48.48.4
Consensus rank	K19	K15
Projected FG attempts	1.8	2.0
Red-zone stalls / game	1.6(2025)	1.4(2025)
Implied total · spread	20.5+3.5	23.5+3.5
Field-goal %	84.4%(2025)	84.2%(2025)
Depth chart	K1	K1
Start/Sit record	—	0–0+1 toss-up