The Falcoholic
There’s one major competition and an otherwise mostly settled picture for Falcons special teams.
With the 2025 NFL Draft over, it’s a fine time to revisit the Atlanta Falcons roster. While there are inevitable changes between now and roster cuts, chiefly in terms of churn on the bottom of the roster, the broad contours are known.
That’s especially true on special teams, where the specialists are either well-established or have known competition that will be unlikely to change unless injury crops up. Long snapper and punter appear to be set in stone, the returner spots are fairly settled so long as a new addition is healthy, but kicker is a true competition for the first time in recent memory.
We’ll work backwards from here all the way to quarterback, so join me as we begin our post-draft journey through this roster.
Competitors: Younghoe Koo/Lenny Krieg
This is a legitimate competition, and though I’d normally give the established option the edge, I’m genuinely unsure how this one turns out. That’s why we have two competitors with no likely starter listed.
Koo has the track record. From 2019 to 2023, he hit at least 86.5% of his kicks (including a sterling 94.9% in 2020) every single year, emerging as a reliable fan favorite who also could be a wizard with onside kick trickery. Last year, Koo’s implosion could be blamed on some combination of mechanics, injury, and tough situations, but it was a dismal season regardless. Koo hit just 73.5% of his kicks, which put him ahead of just seven other kickers in the league, all of whom have either been cut, were hurt, are facing competition this year, or all of the above. There were rumblings of concern at times in 2023 and 2024 because of inopportune missed kicks, but nobody expected that.
Krieg, meanwhile, is the new face. The Falcons seemed very eager to sign him, jumping in front of a queue of other teams interested in the German kicker after he impressed in workouts and did fine work this past season in Europe. The haste with which the Falcons moved to land him tells you they wanted competition for Koo, and that they think he’s an enticing option. All of that gives him a chance to unseat the incumbent, should he kick well this summer.
Koo is only under contract until 2026 and the Falcons can move on fairly easily if Krieg wins this competition, which adds more fuel to the fire here. I’d be tempted to bet on Krieg given the interesting the Falcons had in him, but Koo was one of the league’s more reliable kickers just a short time ago. If he’s healthy and can course correct from last year’s shaky season, he’ll have a more than fair chance to win the battle. The fact that the Falcons are between a bet on a bounceback and a relative unknown is a little scary, but these are both talented players.
Likely starter: Bradley...
