3 Falcons storylines on offense to pay attention to during 2025 training camp

What will a Michael Penix offense look like, and is the depth behind Ryan Neuzil set to be scary?

The Atlanta Falcons offense is once again the engine that will power this team’s playoff aspirations; they can’t afford to stall out the way they did in 2024. Training camp is here, and the offense has multiple storylines worth paying attention to throughout the process.

Here are three I will be keeping tabs on, and they’re ones you should watch closely, too.

Can Zac Robinson take the next step?

The man known as ZRob had a solid debut as a first-time playcaller, but he no longer gets to wear that moniker, and that means expectations have risen. The young coordinator will need to rise up in year two if this offense wants to reach the heights of its potential.

That starts in training camp, where mistakes, miscues, and mishaps are welcome. In 2024, Robinson’s offense struggled to get off to a strong start in two key areas: third-down conversions and red-zone efficiency. The unit would ultimately finish average (17th) in conversion rate, but was still in the bottom 12 of the league in terms of red-zone efficiency.

The offense didn’t have trouble moving the ball or sustaining drives, but finishing them with points became a noted issue for the team. A lack of discipline in opponent territory is the common denominator. Kirk Cousins became a turnover machine, and the penalties the team amassed in these situations were a detriment to their success. Add in the kicking struggles the team dealt with last year, and it’s the perfect formula for empty drives.

Discipline starts at the top, and while ZRob can’t physically prevent his players from breaking the rules or giving away the football, disciplined play needs to be the central talking point of camp for the offense. The floor has risen, and Robinson will need to start where he finished. Stumbling out of the gate and recovering to average by season’s end won’t cut it in year two.

Ryan Neuzil and who?

Drew Dalman and his Impractical Jokers-inspired snaps are gone. Ryan Neuzil is now the man in the middle, and behind him is *checks notes* uhh yeah.

The Falcons are putting all their eggs in the Neuzil basket; a bold decision following a season that showed why having good offensive line depth is key. Neuzil was a part of that depth and showed the team enough to earn the starting spot in 2025, but what happens if Neuzil goes down? That is the question that has kept my heart rate up.

There isn’t a pure center on the roster, just a smorgasbord of guards ready to prove they have what it takes to be the next Neuzil. Jovaughn Gwyn has been underwhelming in his limited action and is often bypassed when the team needs to plug in a player due to injury. UDFAs Joshua Gray and Michael Gonzalez appear to have as good a shot as any, but the idea of having to call on a UDFA during Penix’s first full season starting is terrifying.

Offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford is one of the best in the business, but he’s only human. Can he unearth another gem like Neuzil, or will the lack of talent be too much to overcome this round?

What does a Michael Penix Jr-led team look/sound/feel like?

Every quarterback operates with their own unique flair, and that typically rubs off on the team. Penix’s demeanor is calm, cool, and collected. The hope is that it stays that way now that he’s the undisputed QB1 of the team.

Penix had nothing to lose in relief of Kirk Cousins last year, and the young gunslinger played like it. Throws that make fans go from “no no no…YES” were littered all over the tape, and many started to come to the realization that the kid might just have it. Penix is looking to solidify that belief in 2025.

This training camp is the launch point for the Penix era. He’s already made a good impression, but the NFL is a what have you done for me lately enterprise, and Penix has been tasked with bringing the Falcons their first playoff birth in nearly a decade. Expectations are high, but Penix doesn’t need to be the best quarterback in the league; he doesn’t even need to be one of the top 10. He just needs to be good enough for the Falcons.

Winning will trump any arbitrary list, and Penix already seems to understand that. He knows that being good for half a season means nothing and that putting the ball in harm’s way is the quickest route to losing everything. All eyes will be on the franchise’s new shot caller, and the hope is that it stays that way for years to come.

Special teams bonus topic: Is there really a kicker battle?

The Falcons signed ELF (European League of Football) specialist Lenny Krieg, who didn’t miss a single kick during a combine tryout, and a majority of fans decided that was good enough for them. It shouldn’t be. For starters, kicking in a private environment that doesn’t simulate live action is pretty meaningless; most NFL-caliber kickers can pull that off.

So what did Krieg do overseas? In 2024, he led all kickers in points with 99, with 84.6% accuracy. That accuracy % would be the third-worst finish in Younghoe Koo’s professional career, who has a career average of 86.1%.

In Weeks 1-9, Koo was 16/20 (one miss was a blocked 54-yarder) and seemed to be on pace to finish around his normal production marks, but disaster struck in the second half of the season. Kirk Cousins’ injury management has overshadowed the management of others, like Koo. We have come to understand that the kicker was playing hurt and the team allowed him to play through it until it became an undeniable issue—sound familiar?

The Falcons simply did not have a reliable option behind the kicker (few teams do), and by the time they were able to hold tryouts and sign one, the damage had been done. That’s what makes the addition of Lenny Krieg intriguing, as he is a part of the league’s International Players Pathway (IPP) program. There are special exceptions for players who fall under IPP. You can find more details here, but the team has additional control over the player’s rights and can stash them on the practice squad without it counting against their roster limit.

This signals to me that Krieg is here for insurance just as much as he is for competition. The Falcons signed Krieg to a three-year deal, demonstrating their long-term confidence in his ability, not just for the immediate future. Specialists are fragile, and throwing Krieg to the wolves in year one could be detrimental to his development.

On the other hand, the Falcons needed to put together a legitimate competition after the season that transpired. Koo is in the final year of his deal, and in a perfect world, he wins the job, giving the team a clean handoff going into 2026 if that’s what they desire. Do we live in such a world?

The offense believes it has everything it needs heading into training camp. Fans have been waiting for the offensive talent to be fully realized for years, and now they appear to have the quarterback to make it happen. Training camp will give us early insights into their progress, but we’ll need to wait for live action to get solidified answers.

What other storylines are you tracking as the team starts the infantile days of training camp?