Riley Patterson

Patterson kicked for Detroit, Cleveland and Jacksonville over the past three seasons, making 88.1 percent of his field-goal attempts and 95.9 percent of PATs. While no team has viewed him as a long-term starter so far, the solid conversion rates should make him a favorite to win Washington's job over 28-year-old journeyman Ramiz Ahmed.

Patterson missed only one kick in a seven-game cameo with the Lions in 2021, then backed it up in 2022 by going 30-for-35 on field goals and 36-for-37 on PATs for the Jaguars. The 23-year-old owns career conversion rates of 87.8 percent for FGs and 97.3 percent on PATs, albeit over a small sample and with only four tries from 50-plus yards (two makes). The Jags weren't convinced, as they decided to sign Brandon McManus and traded Patterson to the Lions in May, opting for experience over youth. Patterson now gets a chance to compete with John Parker Romo, who made 17 of 19 field-goal attempts in the XFL last year. The winner could be useful in fantasy, playing home games in a dome for a team that scored a lot of points last year.

Patterson finished last season as Detroit's placekicker, converting 13 of his 14 attempts the final seven games with his lone miss coming from 50-plus yards. The second-year kicker then lost a job battle to Austin Seibert this summer, but landed on his feet in a hurry when the Jaguars decided he was better than their in-house options. Patterson now appears set to kick for the Jags in Week 1, though they could always add him to the discard pile if he disappoints on the practice field the way their other kickers did.

The Memphis product struggled in his senior season despite a stellar career, connecting on just 15 of 22 field-goal attempts and making 36 of 37 point-after tries in 11 games last year. Minnesota has been plagued with kicking troubles over the past few seasons, so Patterson will look to battle Greg Joseph for the starting role.