Evan McPherson or Nick Folk: Who Should You Start?
Preliminary board2026 Week 1 · deterministic head-to-head · Verdicts based on PPR scoring.
Verdicts sharpen as practice reports land.
Start McPherson — the game script and consensus rank edges are too wide to ignore.
Evan McPherson plays in the better game script (27.0 implied team points to 19.8) and is the higher consensus play (K14 to K17). Folk's edge is red-zone opportunity, 1.2 to 1.1 stalls per game. The gap is comfortable.
Evan McPherson
K14CINvs TB
8.58.58.5 Projected Points
Start
Nick Folk
K17ATLvs PIT
7.87.87.8 Projected Points
Sit
Why Evan McPherson
StartStarting K with proven big-leg range. Reliable from distance in clutch situations.
Start — K14 by consensus, projects K11 this week: 1.1 red-zone stalls a game, and 8.5 pts projected vs TB.
- 1.9 FG tries projected, just under the 2.0 league median this week.
- CIN's offense stalls in the red zone 1.1 times a game (2025) — that's where kicker points come from.
- Vegas has CIN at 27 points as 3.5-point favorites.
- 89% on field goals (2025), with a 50-plus make in 4 games.
Why Nick Folk
SitVeteran starting K. Steady, accurate kicker with long-distance experience.
Sit — K17 by consensus, projects K22 this week: 1.2 red-zone stalls a game, and 7.8 pts projected vs PIT.
- 2.0 FG tries projected, right at the 2.0 league median this week.
- ATL's offense stalls in the red zone 1.2 times a game (2025) — that's where kicker points come from.
- Vegas has ATL at 19.8 points as 3-point dogs.
- 97% on field goals (2025), with a 50-plus make in 6 games.
Head-to-head stats
| Metric | Evan McPherson | Nick Folk |
|---|---|---|
| Projected points | 8.58.58.5 | 7.87.87.8 |
| Consensus rank | K14 | K17 |
| Projected FG attempts | 1.9 | 2.0 |
| Red-zone stalls / game | 1.1(2025) | 1.2(2025) |
| Implied total · spread | 27.0-3.5 | 19.8+3.0 |
| Field-goal % | 89.3%(2025) | 96.6%(2025) |
| Depth chart | K1 | K1 |
Signal breakdown
- 8.5 vs 7.8 projected PPR pointsEvan McPherson +
- Rank 14 vs 17Evan McPherson +
- 1.9 vs 2.0 projected attemptsNick Folk +
- 1.1 vs 1.2 red-zone stalls per gameNick Folk +
- Kicking weathereven
- Implied 27.0 vs 19.8 team pointsEvan McPherson +
- No injury designationseven
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