‘The brutal, honest truth' about the Falcons' international kicking competition

New York Times

28-05-2025

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Younghoe Koo knew his job was up for grabs before the Atlanta Falcons signed Lenny Krieg in March. He knew his job was up for grabs before he had the worst season of his career in 2024. He has known his job was up for grabs since the moment he got it with the Falcons in 2019.
'You're always competing,' Koo said. 'You're always getting evaluated.'
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He knows that because he spent almost two years out of the NFL after getting cut by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017, when he was trying to do what Krieg is aiming to do now — take one of the league's 32 jobs.
'It's not the first time having a kicker in the locker room with me,' Koo said. 'It's just kind of how it is in the NFL. (Krieg) is a great dude. He works hard. Competition is always good. You're always competing, whether somebody is physically here or not.'
The Falcons ranked 31st in the league in field goal percentage last year (70.7), and general manager Terry Fontenot said fixing it was a priority entering the offseason.
Koo missed three field goals in a 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 10 and another one in a 17-13 loss to the Chargers in Week 13. After Atlanta placed Koo on injured reserve, Riley Patterson missed a 56-yarder that would have beaten the Washington Commanders in Week 17 and a 52-yarder that would have given the Falcons a lead in the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18.
'We missed entirely too many kicks (last) year, that's the brutal, honest truth. That can't happen,' coach Raheem Morris said. 'We have to find a way to make those kicks. That plays into not winning the amount of games you want to win.'
Koo is entering the fourth year of a five-year, $24 million deal signed before the 2022 season, which he earned on the strength of the 2019-2021 seasons, when he was the second-most accurate kicker in the league (97-for-104, 93.2 percent) behind only Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens. Last season, Koo was 35th among kickers (73.5 percent) after missing a career-worst nine field goals (25 for 34).
Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams said he believes Koo will return to his previous form this year because he never saw Koo's fundamentals or preparation slip last season, despite the lack of results.
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'I like his process and I know his process and I know how he prepares every single day and every single week,' Williams said. 'He'll put his best foot forward.'
Koo spent the final four weeks of last season on IR with a hip muscle injury.
'I have dealt with it before,' he said. 'It was sore for a while, but it wasn't really affecting my swing that much. It just progressively got worse, so I decided to shut it down.'
Koo has returned to full health and is on pace with his normal offseason schedule, which includes kicking twice a week this time of year. He plans to attend all Falcons voluntary OTAs this month to work out with his teammates and said he is happy to have Krieg alongside.
Krieg is Atlanta's most interesting offseason addition. The 22-year-old German didn't kick a football until 2020 when his older brother, Jaycee, an American football coach in Germany, convinced him to see if he could turn his soccer background into a football future.
Mr. Lenny Krieg. 🇪🇺🦵 https://t.co/RFo8VVgyjn pic.twitter.com/jeqqx53uhb
— European League of Football (@ELF_Official) March 28, 2025
Lenny Krieg kicked for the Berlin Adler of the German Football League in 2021 and was then signed by the Stuttgart Surge of the European League of Football in 2022 and 2023. On most days during those three years, the fields his teams used for practice didn't have uprights, Krieg said, so he kicked over the soccer goals.
'Just imagination,' he said.
Krieg's big break came in December 2024 when he was accepted to the NFL's International Player Pathway program, which led to an invitation to the NFL combine.
'It was pretty special,' Krieg said. 'My whole life changed after that call.'
Krieg quit school and his real estate job and began to focus all his attention on football. At the combine, he made every kick with Williams on the field watching, which is what first got him on the Falcons' radar. Williams and Falcons special teams assistant Steven King then attended Krieg's pro day at the University of South Florida, and the Falcons signed him to a three-year contract the next day.
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As a member of the IPP program, Krieg can remain on the team without counting against the league's roster limits, so Atlanta is incentivized to keep him around at least through the 2025 season. Whether he can eventually replace Koo is an open question.
'I'm just going to keep working, keep improving, make the most out of it, take it day by day and see where it takes me,' Krieg said.
The competition won't just be decided on who makes the most practice kicks, Williams said.
'It's everything,' the coach said. 'It's your preparation, your process, how you operate, how you carry yourself as a professional, your mindset, your fundamentals, your technique. As a kicker, you have to be likable, too, because there is going to be a time you're going to miss a kick. It's going to happen. How are your teammates going to treat you? Are they going to be encouraging you, or are they going to be walking away from you? That's a huge part of it.'
Koo didn't need the addition of Krieg to convince him this is an important offseason.
'Last year's performance, whether because of injury or not, was a motivating factor for me, but every season I try to reset and work hard,' Koo said. 'I'm always working on myself and trying to be the best version of myself, and I can live with the result.'
(Photo of Younghoe Koo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)