After 2024 Setback, Falcons Kicker Younghoe Koo Ready To Embrace Camp Competition

"Health-wise, it's great. It wasn't as serious as it could have been, so I'm fortunate in that," Koo said. "Every offseason, I go through my training and offseason routine, and I'm right where I want to be, if not further along."

Last season, Koo would convert on 25 of his 34 field goal attempts. His lowest during his career was at a clip of only 73.5%. During a game against the New Orleans Saints, in which Atlanta had multiple opportunities to win the football game, Koo would miss three kicks, one of which was blocked. Afterwards, Koo would end up on the injury report during week 13. 

The hip never improved, landing him on IR during week 16. "My hip, it's like a rotator muscle. I've dealt with it before," Koo said. "It just comes with kicking. It was sore in the beginning, and it wasn't really affecting my swing that much, so I just kept kicking on it and it just progressively got worse.

"I was like, 'Alright, I'm not helping myself or the team at this point. No point in further injuring it. I'm not able to perform the way I want to,' So, I shut it down."

After an impressive showing at the NFL Combine, Atlanta would sign German kicker Lenny Krieg. Raheem Morris would comment on the position, stating, "We missed entirely too many kicks this year, the brutal honest truth, that can't happen. So, we've got to find ways to make those kicks. That certainly plays into the part of not winning the amount of games you want to win. We got to find ways to create that competition across the board for all of us."

Koo would comment on having competition at the position for the first time since 2019, saying, "It's not my first time having a kicker in the locker room with me throughout OTAs or training camp, but it's just kind of how it is in the NFL," Koo said. "He's a great dude. He works hard."

Koo's position was never really threatened in the past, but the Falcons signing Krieg to a three-year deal indicates that they aren't just looking for another body in camp but actual competition at the kicker position.