Veteran Falcons starter suddenly fighting for his job

A key position is up for grabs in Atlanta as OTAs begin.

Kicker is one of the most unforgiving positions in pro sports. One year, you can be one of the best in the world at your position and before you know it, you're searching for a job. That could be the position Younghoe Koo finds himself in as training camp approaches for the Atlanta Falcons. Once a Pro Bowl selection (2020), Koo is now in a camp competition with Lenny Krieg, who comes to Atlanta after playing professionally in Germany.

Atlanta hopes to compete for the NFC South in 2025; having a steady foot at the kicker position seems mightily important when the expectations are that high.

#Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams says there will indeed be a competition at kicker between Younghoe Koo and Lenny Krieg.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) May 21, 2025

Younghoo Koo had a rough 2024

After five strong years with Atlanta, Koo had his worst year as a pro last season; he went just 25 for 34 on his kicks, for a percentage of 73.5. For reference, Koo had never kicked worse than 86.5 percent as a Falcon. In the NFL, where kickers are expected to be pretty much perfect, one down year is unfortunately enough to warrant a tryout to replace a guy.

Eddy Piñeiro is the third-most accurate kicker in NFL history, and he's played for four different NFL teams. Kai Forbath is No. 7, and he's been out of the NFL for half a decade! The kicker world is as unforgiving to kickers as it is forgiving to quarterbacks. Those guys keep getting jobs no matter what! Justice for kickers!

Koo has been a fan favorite for years; my guess is that most Falcons fans are cheering for him to win this position battle, even after missing some clutch kicks last year. But Krieg might give him a run for his money; the German kicker balled out at the NFL combine, hitting from 50 and 55 yards from both sides of the field. Ziemlich gut! (That's pretty good in German.)