Atlanta Falcons Have Clear Winner in Kicking Competition

While Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins has gotten most of the ink for unsuccessfully battling through an injury last season, but kicker Younghoe Koo was going through something similar.

Koo had his worst season in Atlanta last year. The veteran kicker made just 73.5% of his kicks in 2024, missing nine field goals before ultimately succumbing to his injury and missing the final three games of the season. Coincidentally (maybe), the same timeline that saw Cousins shelved for the year. 

This offseason, the Falcons brought in competition for Koo in the form of German kicker Lenny Krieg, who put on a show at the NFL Combine.

While both kickers have been in open competition with one another all offseason, there is no animosity between the two. Koo has taken Krieg under his wing.

“He’s a great dude, he works hard,” Koo said on Krieg. “I try to help him any way I can, and at the end of the day, you know I just got to do my part and be the best version of myself.” 

The competition through camp has been fierce and gone back and forth, with both kickers making plays. On the first day of training camp, Krieg had the advantage over Koo. Krieg went a perfect 4/4 on his kicks, while Koo missed one from 50.

Since then, Koo has been the more consistent of the pair; however, Krieg might have the best kick of the preseason. In the Falcons’ first preseason matchup against the Detroit Lions, the German kicker nailed a 57-yard field goal right down the middle of the uprights.